he started out as a math teacher in academy district 20 and taught for 13 years in 2005 mr gregory came to this central office and worked as the chief financial officer in 2019 he began his journey as the superintendent this year has been crazy but our superintendent has always put the students first in every decision he made for mr gregory he stated this year has been the hardest year for him in his 31 years he has always tried to keep a balance between what he does for the students and how it will impact the teachers and parents he is always trying to be thoughtful considerate passionate and compassionate his main focus is to help the students and teachers one of mr gregory's main values for the schools is making sure that the staff is connecting with the students and helps them to have a sense of belonging and pride in attending school and help the students and staff bring the values they each have to offer it is our pleasure to introduce you all to academy district 20's superintendent mr tom gregory well thank you zoe i would like to start by acknowledging dr jim smith and all of our high school principals for their continuous efforts to plan re-plan and plan again these graduation ceremonies over the last few months in effort to keep up with ever-changing guidance their focus has always been centered on developing a traditional graduation ceremony with as few restrictions as possible and as many guests as possible dr smith and mr timig on behalf of the district 20 community thank you for making this day of celebration possible i also want to recognize and thank class of 2021 student theo koch for participating on my student advisory council this past year theo not only did you represent the liberty high school student voice with honor and pride your perspective regarding website effectiveness online learning covet frustrations equity and inclusion graduation ceremonies and many other topics was valued and constructive thank you theo well class of 2021 you've made it congratulations you've navigated some of the most difficult circumstances faced by students in decades you sacrificed the end of your junior year and continued that sacrifice through your senior year and your senior year has been like no other remote learning in-person learning online learning and hybrid learning that's a lot of learning and all of that learning included a host of new norms and terms such as mask breaks cohorting social distancing quarantines hand sanitizer more quarantines more hand sanitizer and more quarantines you endured shortened athletic seasons online concerts online plays outdoor proms numerous cancellations and dare i say it not one single snow day or at least in a different form this was not all your senior year was marked by some of the most contentious and social and political events in history your senior year has been one of historical proportions you've made history in 10 20 50 100 years students and teachers will read about your journey in their history classes but through it all you've persevered you're patient you're flexible and you showed grit in short you demonstrated resilience resilience can be described as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape or most simply put being elastic resilience is now part of your dna and frankly that is a good thing because resilience is a characteristic you will need to lean on throughout your life i wish i could tell you life gets easier and resilience is a trait that you only needed in 2020 and 2021 but the truth is whether through your job education or future relationships you will face challenges you overcame the challenges of your senior year and you will continue to overcome future challenges because you are adaptable you are persistent you are resilient and you are creative problem solvers an article in the journal of medical science from 2016 says resilience is an individual's ability to adaptively respond to hardship stress and adversity it is the ability to bounce back that describes each one of you the same article also reads individuals who report high levels of resilience typically portray an optimistic outlook positive emotionality curiosity and openness to new experiences they are able to emerge from challenges stronger wiser and more powerful resilience correlates strongly with success interpersonal satisfaction happiness and hope as you leave here today prepare to make prepared to make your mark on this world i ask that you use the events of the last 16 months to propel you forward no matter how much the world tries to hold you back challenge you or knock you down or maybe even throw you in the trash always continue with the belief that what you want to achieve is possible don't lose hope stay confident believe in the possibilities channel your curiosity seek solutions to problems others may not see you can find you hope through many means hope can arise from simply taking in new information or gaining new knowledge sometimes it may be just the smile of a trusted friend the friend who trusts in you or in your ability to find a creative solution to a new problem as described in the story of the lone shark and the daughter the story goes in a small italian town many years ago a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan shark the lawrence shark was an old rough looking guy that just so happened to fancy the businessman's daughter the loan shark offered the businessman a deal that would dissolve the business man's debt however there was a catch the catch was that he would only forgive the debt if he could marry the businessman's daughter needless to say this proposal was met with disgust however as the story goes the lone shark proposed they replaced two pebbles in a bag one white and one red the daughter would then reach into the bag and pick out a pebble if the pebble was red the debt would be forgiven and the lone shark would marry the businessman's daughter if the stone selected was white the debt would still be forgiven but the daughter would not have to marry the lone shark standing on a path strewn with red and white pebbles in the businessman's garden the lone shark bent over and picked up two pebbles as he was picking them up the daughter noticed that he picked up two red pebbles and placed them both into the bag he then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and select one naturally the daughter had three choices one refused to pick a pebble from the bag which would not help her father two take both pebbles out of the bag and expose the loan shark for a cheater which again would not help her father or three pick a pebble from the bag full well knowing it was going to be red and she would sacrifice herself for her father's financial freedom so she reluctantly drew a pebble from the bag and before the color was discovered she appeared to accidentally drop it to the ground in dropping it to the ground on this red and white strewn path the color of the petal was undetectable amid other pebbles she had quickly engineered a fourth option after a short pause she said to the loan shark oh how clumsy of me but if you look into the bag for the pebble that is left you will be able to tell which pebble i dropped the pebble left in the bag is obviously red and knowing the loan shark did not want to be exposed he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white her father's debt was cleared and the loan shark defeated her creative solution saved the situation in an instant the father and daughter went from feeling hopeless to feeling hopeful as a result of a short moment in time when she saw solutions others did not as martin luther king jr stated we must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope you are graduating today from a great school in a great district in a terrific community in a wonderful state in the greatest country in the world you have every reason to be hopeful and optimistic as you reflect and celebrate on your time in high school remember that you did not make the journey alone please please take time to thank friends teachers parents grandparents or anyone else who pushed or maybe pulled you to this day congratulations liberty high school class of 2021 i wish you a successful hopeful and fulfilling future be well and be safe thank you [Music] foreign [Music] so [Music] about one more round of applause for our choir and our band mr gregory dr smith and members of the district 20 school board it is an honor to present to you the liberty high school graduating class of 2021 and to certify to you that every senior who has presented a diploma has at minimum met the requirements established by the academy school district 20 board of education and therefore will be recognized as graduates of academy district 20.
i am a strong believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason and that there is always a silver lining so though it's easy for us to say that this past year has not been the best senior year it could have been it's important that we look at all that we've gained during this past year and realized that we should be proud of ourselves for making it through this year of unknowns a year were the saying did you just roll out of bed gained a whole new and truer meaning this past year has taught us to become patient resilient problem solvers hard workers and has given us a new sense of strength some of us already had these skills others didn't but no matter what we have them now and these skills are indispensable in regards to our futures these skills have given us new ways to face conflict whether in the workplace or in our personal lives have made us more proficient with technology and have shown us that we have the mental fortitude to deal with anything that life throws at us now we're at the end of our high school career and although i can't imagine any of us going oh my goodness i really want to do that again i think we can all say it has been full of both good and some not so good memories exciting times and stressful times and overall a lot of ups and downs it's important for us to remember that without the lows we would never be able to experience the highs but when we experience those lows as lynn vallejo puts it it's your choice to scream or enjoy the ride it is time for us to remember the good parts and use our new skills to look towards the future whether we're going straight into the workforce taking a gap year going into the military traveling or going to college we are well prepared it is time for us all to get on on a new roller coaster and live our lives with all of the ups and downs so graduating class of 2021 congratulations we did it thank you great job emma and now let us enjoy i'll be on my way by our chamber choir under the direction of the amazing miss austina when lee am gone don't you cry for me don't you pity my sorry so what pain there might have been will now be passed and my spirit will be home i'll be on my way [Music] i'll have left my feet of clay upon the ground i will be glory bound i'll be on my way when i am gone don't you cry for me don't you pity my sorry soul [Music] i'll be on my i'll be way my way [Music] that i might have done to you i'll be on my way [Music] don't you look for me in the places i have been i'll be alive but somewhere else i'll be on my way again [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] i'll be on my wow amazing isn't it great to hear mute music again absolutely after a year away it's wonderful to have you back thank you all right now seniors you asked for it it was your vote that made this happen let's give it up for the one and only miss ally johnson well well well well well you know what that was too many wells i'm gonna start again okay good morning i am singer songwriter pink and i am so excited to be here today okay crossing that out pink joke didn't land okay i am wildly honored and confused as to why the senior class chose me as their speaker today likely they chose me because i am accident prone and they thought it would be funny to see someone fall off the stage but in any case i genuinely thank the senior class of for this wonderful and quite terrifying honor when preparing for today the seniors gave me a little bit of advice one don't make the entire thing about covid uh two please refrain from using the word unprecedented and three cool it on the taylor swift lyrics naturally my response was what about beyonce lyrics so in all honesty i did struggle with this speech i am not equipped to give advice to such an outstanding group of young people i am like all grown-ups still figuring it all out i truly have no key takeaways to share from this last year i like everyone i'm still trying to decide if folklore or evermore is my new favorite taylor swift album no advice will not be my jam today but i do have some sincere hopes for this beautiful group so here it goes seniors you darling angel babies i know you will have seats at the table after all you are cadets and cadets are dope right i mean right right right okay but please know this is not the case for everyone this is a fact about privilege yes but the power of your class will be your ability to empower my hope is that you not only make room at the table but you amplify voices of those who get passed over or ignored remember there is enough room for everyone at the table success is not a pie you don't need a smaller piece for someone else to have some i know you will speak loudly and clearly about what you believe in i hope that you recognize the moments to sit back and listen listening is the sweet center of growing and learning and becoming better in my darling angel babies none of us none of us are done growing and for you the learning is just beginning now i know you will challenge the status quo and you will not accept the phrase this is the way it's always been done i hope your response to the naysayers and haters is i had a marvelous time ruining everything and as much as i would like to take credit for that yes that is a taylor swift lyric most of you will spend your life doing something we haven't dreamed of yet and recognizing truth that today seems taboo i think of when i sat in your chair and there wasn't a single state where same-sex marriage was legal how exciting to think of what social change you'll be a part in shaping now i know that in your careers and in your lives you will experience moments of mediocrity i hope that you recognize that no one no one can be beyonce all day every day yo that's beyonce's job but in these moments know two powerful things first happiness lies in our ability to see the ordinary as extraordinary i hope to one day meet you again and your life will look very ordinary on the outside but be extraordinary to you every precious day second there is this old saying that says when you are served lemons make your own version of beyonce's lemonade album i do need to remind you cadets that you have as many hours in the day as queen bee that's over a thousand minutes every single day to make things happen now i know you'll want to give up some days you'll think i can't possibly do these hard things i hope that you eat some protein get some rest and show up the next day as queen glennon doyle tells us be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyway lastly i know that i mentioned taylor swift and beyonce too much in this speech i know that my hope is that you also mention these women in all of your future speeches and i don't know maybe in all of your staff meanings like just a thought actually scratch that yes celebrate these women but more importantly show up every day as a person that embodies the reasons we love them be a baller be a boss be unapologetically you be a revolutionary be a champion of the underdog be someone that makes your generation proud and of course be a style icon and when it feels like this plan isn't going your way drink a big glass of water reach out to one of the people sitting beside you put on some lizzo and show up anyway end of speech okay i am super delighted to introduce your senior class speaker cam boutman class of 2021 students esteemed faculty parents friends it's difficult to articulate the weight of this year i could throw more buzzwords at the heartache and the hope that we felt maybe use the word unprecedented for the nine billionth time but in the end it's undeniable words fall short so allow me to turn to the words of someone wiser late one night at the beginning of the school year i was lying on my bed doom scrolling on tick tock you know the drill it was 2 am and i was restless noticing my english textbook nearby i flipped it open to a random page near the back and i was met with the poem ulysses by alfred lord tennyson it's a long and epic poem narrated by the legendary greek hero ulysses you've probably heard of him by now i would hope here though he's not the youthful and spirited warrior he once was he's an old idol man reflecting restlessly on the adventure he once knew the storms he battled the battlefields he stormed and the dim future that awaits him naturally i could relate when reflecting on this year one of the truest sensations that i recall is the restlessness i may not be a dying ancient greek warrior but i know what it feels like to be stuck in that feeling of waiting waiting for normalcy waiting for graduation waiting for lifted restrictions there's a term for that in-between space we've been living in liminality it refers to that moment when you've left something behind but you're not fully in something else yet the image often used is of a trapeze artist swinging high in the air they've just released their bar and they're reaching out for the hands of their capture excuse me their catcher but they haven't quite grabbed a hold yet that moment is liminality midair i was midair that night when i encountered ulysses the last stanza in particular struck me it goes like this though much is taken much abides and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven that which we are we are one equal temper of heroic hearts made weak by time and fate but strong in will to strive to seek to find and not to yield what a great reminder during a year when we've been stripped of all normalcy though much is taken much abides so much has abided this year like family friends and faith in a god who has seen much higher floods than this every kid that has witnessed our community's abiding resilience to quote one wise scholar these students us will never be limited by the challenges they face in the future because they have already proven they can overcome the unthinkable that brilliant quote came from miss cullen our own english teacher extraordinaire i actually emailed several teachers earlier this spring asking for their pandemic insights miss o'neill wrote back if the pandemic taught me anything it's that you only have one life to live so live it how you want miss casano agreed adding don't take yourself too seriously mr miles miss walhoff and colonel huber reminded me that nothing in life is guaranteed so make the most of every day mr gore noted that you can teach an old dog new tricks humbly he added i am the old dog miss anderson quote wishes for a world with more empathy and understanding you have seen such turmoil she wrote not just from the pandemic but also from the political divide and social unrest it seems we have lost our balance it's true recently reality has seemed off balance sometimes it's tempting to wish we weren't the pioneers of such a historic time but what a thrilling prospect the world feels uprooted and it is our duty and privilege to help re-ground it we have the opportunity to shape the future in a truly excuse my french unprecedented way the future is malleable our will will not be we're stepping over that threshold that we've been chained to we're leaving liminality behind and arming ourselves with a renewed vigor this was a painful way to plant it but what has this year grown in us if not of restless energy to do good in the world that pent-up energy that was fostered and has festered inside of us for so long is no longer our poison it will be our fuel so go out and explode with that energy as ulysses said strive seek find do not yield and when it gets hard and it's 2 am again turn to those things that abide those sources of light and life that did not and will not extinguish fill yourself up again overflow then fill up those around you charge into those places that were found to be needing leaders just like you research the cure for the viruses that have infected our bodies and our minds and somebody please invent a device that will tell you when your hand is still up in microsoft teams right now we may not be in full swing but we're grabbing onto the hands of our catcher celebrate because joy and life are on the horizon harness that restless ceaseless energy you found and go out and live life to the full armed with empathy community energy and the knowledge that you can and will change the world thank you i'd like to introduce again our amazing principal mr ellison great job cam how about our cadet speakers huh amazing job amazing i didn't realize i was supposed to quote you know a musician mr sudduth maybe next year i'll i'll quote gene and paul for those of you that don't know we were both members of the kiss army back in the 70s when we were kids so that's another day all right seniors please rise we're almost there and now it is with great pleasure that i present the members of the class of 2021 to mrs cloninger and the board of education mrs cloninger i hereby certify that these young men and women have met the requirements for graduation from air academy high school and academy district 20 and are recommended for their diplomas congratulations on behalf of the board of education of academy district 20 i accept with pride and pleasure the 2021 graduating class of air academy high school mr olson thank you and your staff for an outstanding job all right seniors you may be seated readers let's take your position let's get this party started let's get this standard okay brandon matthew alderman penelope jade aleman christian conrad alves tava nicole anderson kylie autumn andrew francisco ansel dua richard elliott koa ash griffin james asher braden gerald baker justin michael ballard bodie martin's banks nashwa cyan rain barnard mckeely asia barnes courtney gay barnes samantha christine batista kirsten elena barton robert joseph batista christopher henry bassett [Music] faith marie beard creed carlson bowman zachary shepard bell daniel lucian bedard gavin john blunt abigail rose berta sarah renee bassard victoria grace bolden vincent david bowen abigail mackenzie bowers drew alan braden jana lee boyd hayden taylor broner lindsay marie bradford paige mckenzie bristow megan ruth brazzo monica renee brown megan ashley brooks ariane latrell burr [Music] eli samuel burton maya sierra burton xavius archer coma viloria [Music] aiden nathaniel cardiel marissa corrin capiello triplette kobe michael cartier valeria ciomara caro fernandez emily rose chipman thank you skylar may cash colin michael christensen brian timothy gilbert clinton iv caitlyn ann clark alexandra michelle conforti jacob ryan colbert samantha elizabeth cordosco [Music] julian jose contreras jordan andres cornejo lopez aaron michaela cooper victoria christiana kubas [Music] clayton joshua cox luke james davis nell a may danielson gabriel matteo de mate samuel robert durant victoria dayton alyssa gene dixon dustin jean demoss natalia emily eid capri alana doing jaden christopher elias karen melody dyer mcgowan zoe elizabeth ferrell jamon dean rashaan eric aiden christopher flowers erica alexis eisner [Music] trinity magdalen geheimer luke thomas elliott ian james garner gracie ellen everhart gabriella marie jacobelli luke adam farrington james edward vernon ferguson ricardo joseph gonzalez zoe maddox foster kirchgessner nathaniel marcus gray grace lillian gardner luke ryan groon evan alexander gassio benjamin stephen haddad christopher allen goetzman rachel mangyao halderson nicholas noah getzman joshua andrew hamill caitlin addison grenada [Music] jayden michelle norris hanson haley elizabeth gregg marco anthony hanson peter is begniev grott maxwell edward heart parker james hall anna marjorie hedges nathan stewart haste aiden ross helvey joshua joseph hammer elizabeth grace hess mitchell jordan hargraves lauren elizabeth hinson preston nolan hargraves benjamin christopher hodge abigail marie hatch lane robert horsefall abigail lauren heller christian chase jameson hurley christian michael hergott lydia marie who's here jonathan david hickey charlie ray jessup hey leah oh sorry haley victoria hoe craft sorry michael herbert johnson [Music] cameron kelton hooker benjamin ray jordan ally ruth hoats owen akash kopflesh savannah rose hivert arielle michelle kaufman [Music] zachary christopher christopher iaconis malena joy kennedy ashlyn kennedy johnson nicholas wyeth kozak tiger paul johnson jacob francisco kuhn kailyn brielle johnswald natalia christina lambos [Music] cadell de whitino nali [Music] nicholas patrick lavelle mia helen cardell jaded wyman lee nathan henry keane jr avery jordan lineker dylan grace kennedy scarlett elizabeth lennicker [Music] william jacob chloe craig samuel lilimon jade cove cramer ann alexandra lauthen kevin ancoy lake benjamin selvin lemay catherine nettie marie lark alex michael moline stephanie claire lawrence casey skye martin eric james [Music] joshua carter maynard [Applause] lillian kathleen vidal lewis lydia elizabeth mccann cohen dominic liller john keegan mccleskey samuel raoul [Applause] taylor renee mcknight sasha nicole mabry michael stephen mclaughlin [Music] elsa joy martin [Music] russell warren mercer alexis lowelloni martinez dies cole jason mitcheller jason elijah mays jasmine sandra montgomery hannah mccully [Music] jonathan gray moore gavin elliott mcgowan kennedy ray morris jacob henry mclaughlin brooke lindsey moss zane rutger manasseh jocelyn josie elizabeth mutchler casey lauren miller rain tatiana nash lydia catherine molassen kara nicole nelson [Applause] sage elizabeth montgomery kate elise nelson [Applause] grace emily moose owen gabriel newton tessa anali morris olivia bernadette novi abigail marie murphy mania pearl oldham gunner trey narker cedric evan orton urbina sammy abdullah nazif elizabeth ann palmer emily sierra nelson cora elizabeth parnell jett thomas william neubacher william marcus patton leo anthony nudie evelyn marie peake julie romela o'toole [Music] trinity and peck kobe dwight olsen [Applause] [Music] ava morena flager nico alexander pappas hayley morgan pingel olivia rose parsons nathan michael pontiac jack ryan pern [Applause] aubry jane powell caitlin ashley pern joshua alexander price isabelle victoria perego ayanna marissa quinones alicia marie picati jacob david rawley aaron kimberly joseph jason pulaski audrey elaine rising thai lucian povolite emerson grenadka gabrielle jolie pilot [Music] jc virginia richardson [Music] connor norris rollins stella edwina roberts tanner henning rollins alexandra rossani emily catherine render macy ray russi mckenna marie reynolds patience ashlyn rooserway maddox bryant rewald lily and saxorud [Applause] darian rivera [Music] chloe elizabeth shippers stone eric rockwood hannah velma severson riley kiara repcalvis liliana nicole silva william jackson sack bikini emily audrey de luna psy tejus krishna satish kumar angela k smith blake russell shawi samuel xavier smith heidi rose rose south philly and sorenson mason keith shandy sydney ava spindler jessica joy sims stephen paul stefan evan olab slavins christina noel stanley kendall lee smith william reese stevenson [Applause] ryan michael snoover jason dimitri street bailey grace spriggs kessler elizabeth steadman kyle david stahl kaylee excuse me elora kaylee swanson hayley nego nicole stegall lynnea allen thomas jacob kent stinson [Music] [Applause] eric michael thornock kylie rhiannon mary strong alison k torres samantha lee schweikert wyatt james tucker catherine alana tansel jessica jovanese tosa mary way samuel robert thompson stephen joseph valdez mercedes and declan tiffany nathan william vancouven josiah aaron tucker shannon kate ubelhauer alyssa angelina van beek amaya jade walker david michael van romortel marin grace walters allora samantha villarroya [Music] jada ray weyman benjamin scott weaver gianna rose walla lindsey lee weiss marie hyping walters [Music] isabella lauren werner ransom wayne emily ann renee wickers ellie jane wylan eric joseph wilmes [Music] [Applause] samuel mason weisstein jordan austin wooster nicholas alden wheeler [Music] sophia yasmin zuniga paul harry weiss emma lynn franzen joanne nguyen [Music] pearl cadence yoakam thomas arthur zappill [Applause] olivieri [Applause] congratulations seniors now before i bring kylan up for the official turning of the tassel i have a few announcements first of all seniors your diplomas are in those covers so please don't forget them here at the stadium the other item is if we could have graduates and families please exit as soon as possible a liberty high school is doing their graduation right after ours and we need to get set up for them so please let's try to do pictures elsewhere other than here on the stadium so we can get set up so with that i would like to bring miss kylan oliveira's up to the stage hi cadets um i guess i'm gonna have to start calling something you guys something new because that's just not gonna work anymore so as we finish our graduation ceremony and the conclusion of high school i would like to thank once again the family and the faculty for the immense sport given throughout the past four years as seniors we will participate in the symbolic gesture of turning of the tassel representing not only our academic but personal accomplishments throughout the past four years will the class of 2021 please stand please join me in moving of your tassel from the right to the left congratulations to the class of 2021.
this has been sydney jones your rampart high school senior class president signing off thank you sydney a few of you have uh asked me to use what you like to call my presidential voice for this speech so i'm gonna do my best to do that for you good afternoon and thank you all for coming to the graduation ceremony of ramparts class of 2021. look around you my friends these people these sensations this is our childhood 1383 days ago many of us walked through the front doors of rampart for our first day of high school as naive 14 year olds our biggest concerns were remembering to our pack our lunch boxes and how to get to our classrooms within a five minute passing period however as i stand in front of you now i've realized that it is time to say goodbye to the kinder through 12th grade stage of our lives a stage full of silly bands dabbing pokemon go the mannequin challenge gangnam style plants vs zombies scholastic book fairs giant gym parachutes shel silverstein poems sharkboy and lava girl and club penguin of course these memories and activities will always be there to comfort us downloading temple run is after all only a few clicks away but what lies ahead is a new stage one full of opportunities successes and hopefully a little less tick-tock a close friend of mine told me about an assignment that every senior had to complete at her school to graduate it was called the good life the assignment was simple write a 20-page essay on what it means to live a good life i contemplated this request for quite some time and i challenge each of you to do the same what does it mean to you to live a good life what would you fill your pages with does living a good life mean making millions of dollars or does it mean doing good for the world maybe living a good life means having children or starting a family falling in love starting a business helping the environment donating to charities making friends traveling the globe or taking care of the elderly whatever your passions are follow them to live a good life i believe that all of us must understand these words stop worrying about the opinions of others people are not thinking about you they are not studying your mistakes laughing at your failures nor are they talking about you behind your back no people are thinking about themselves just like you so stop worrying about what others think of you and be the person you want to be our generation is arguably the most important generation of the future not only do we have to solve the pr the sorry not only do we have to solve the issues that divide our country but we also must find solutions to the problems being faced around the world there is no doubt in my mind that each and every one of us can change the world the future president of the united states could very well be sitting on this field and i cannot wait to see you on tv and say hey i went to high school with them rampart class of 2021 it has been an absolute honor serving as your student body president this year we have been through a lot together memories that i know each of us will value for the rest of our lives now more than ever we are in this together now more than ever we begin a new adventure class of 2021 we will change the world forever because we are rampart thank you now it is my honor to introduce the academy school district 20 superintendent mr tom gregory born and raised in academy district 20 thomas gregory has a passion for the educational process and thrives on helping others succeed he was a classroom teacher for 11 years a school administrator for four years and completed his 14th year as the leader for the business operations at academy's district 20 in 2019.
eugene pock our salutatorian eugen parents are joe and jasmine park would you please stand to be recognized eugene is graduating with a 4.86 gpa he earned straight a's for eight semesters and is a national ap scholar eugene was president of cyber patriots fbla knowledgeable and multiple honor societies to include the national tech honors society his favorite subject was technology and he enjoyed taking many different computer courses a favorite memory was competing in cyber patriots and meeting other students with the same interests as well as learning new skills additionally eugene earned five it certifications he was selected to intern at the national cyber security center and has worked as a junior software developer while in high school he is attending the school of mines and is planning to major in computer science he is the recipient of a full tuition scholarship the colorado scholars fund he aspires to become a software engineer he would like to thank his parents teachers and friends for supporting and encouraging him throughout high school congratulations eugene pock salutatorian of pine creek's class of 2021 [Applause] lauren schrack valedictorian lauren's parents are greg and susan shrek would you please stand to be recognized lauren is graduating with a 4.4 gpa which is the highest gpa for a valedictorian from from pine creek she has earned straight a's for eight semesters is a national merit scholar and the national ap scholar she participated in robotics cyber patriots mu alpha theta earth club and fbla lauren served as an officer and leader in many of these organizations lauren shared that her favorite classes were ap government and ap environmental science favorite memories include participating in cyber patriots and serving as an officer and leader in several student organizations in the fall lauren will be attending mit and majoring in computer science she would like to thank her parents who have given her unconditional love and support and helped her become the best version of herself congratulations lauren schrack valedictorian of the pine creek's class of 2021 the student address will be given by a senior selected through a tryout process gage maida attended mountain view elementary challenger middle school and pine creek high school gage has been a member of student council theater and served as the manager for the women's lacrosse team his favorite classes were student council and theater he is planning to attend pikes peak community college in the fall and he shared with me that he would like to study criminal justice and is interested in working in law enforcement please welcome gauge maiden for the phone just take my time good morning ladies and gentlemen today is a day filled with inspiration and excitement and about every other emotion a person could have i have the privilege today of talking to you as we the class of 2021 graduates from pine creek high school [Applause] now if you don't know me i'm gage meda first i want to give an enormous congrats to everyone including myself for all we've accomplished the world we live in in the midst of the covet pandemic is much different than anything we've encountered before it has affected all of us but we are finding the courage to rise above our ears and find our way through the obstacles we face we have had many occasions to exercise our resiliency and problem solving skills recently class of 2021 parents administrators and teachers we have absolutely turned our challenges into opportunities it was only four years ago that we all came together and walked through the doors of pine creek high school for the very first time only last year as hard-working juniors we couldn't have guessed that we were going to be shut down and transferred to online school it was a hard and stressful time but we got through it we need to remember that our experiences of overcoming adversity are actually making us stronger and better people we all have experience with overcoming adversity mine is that i have autism and i've been on an iep my whole school career i have had failing grades and fought to bring them up i will be graduating with a 3.2 grade point average [Applause] i've also been on homecoming court participate in sports theater co-piloted a plane more than once have been on student council and have honestly had more opportunities than i deserved no one would have thought in years past that i would have the opportunity to give a graduation speech to my graduating class this class even though our struggles may be different we know that our success has not been without the help of great friends teachers tutors and family all the people that believed in us have encouraged us and have helped us find our way thank you we need to remember to turn to each other when we're faced with challenges pine creek has good and kind people and i am lucky to have hung out with them our teachers have been so helpful in each grade and class to me and my peers who need help we can't leave out noting our appreciation to the administrators deans security and staff to keep the school running and for supervising different things like sporting events dances student council plays musicals clubs and athletics that we offer as a school our families offer us help in any area that we are struggling with we all recognize we are lucky to be in an environment where we can learn i wonder what life is going to be we will leave high school as seniors like attending different colleges finding a job and getting to know what it will be like to become a responsible adult here is my appeal to my class always remember we are equipped to overcome whatever comes our way and in times that you're not sure of your abilities turn to the people who love you for their support be positive be kind help others who need help try your best and keep moving forward thanks for the opportunity to give to give a great speech to graduation today congratulations class of 2021.
on our four-day responses so far i have uh 87 of the 104 teachers uh it's fallen along the lines of about depending on the question the questions are essentially do you believe these students could benefit from the a four day school schedule right now approximately 66 and two-thirds say yes and just about a third say no and so there's still more work to do there the highest response when he said do you believe we can improve teacher retention and recruitment with the four day work week that was the highest that was about 85 percent yes and 15 no [Music] it's the and the information is not necessarily anecdotal but it is a it's a good starting point uh i think the point to be made is it's not clear-cut one direction or the other i will say that um [Music] what we'll like we always do is we'll poll and survey our community as well to get stakeholder feedback from students parents community folks that want to weigh in and we should have that back we'll get that out in june and we'll we'll have that data probably within a few weeks and we'll have to administer that survey at least once or twice to get the feedback that we want in august or september we'd be ready i would imagine to form a committee and to take a deep thorough look at that to make an educated decision on that and so we we are underway we're just in the data gathering process and that's as much as i have to share about that unless there are specific questions from the board any questions appreciate the work that's done been done interested in what's coming so much okay next item on the agenda is call to the public we would invite individuals to make comments to or crest of the governing board regarding items that are not listed at this time elsewhere on the agenda those wishing to address the board are asked to submit a request to address the governing board form available from the secretary to the governing board members of the board may not discuss items not on the agenda therefore action taken as a result of the public comment will be limited to directing staff to study the matter or scheduling the matter for further consideration a decision and decision at a later date the operating rules of the call the public are as follows individual time limit is three minutes per person and time cannot be seated to another individual so if there is anybody that would like to address the board at this time we'd be happy to receive that nothing for you mary all right so the only other item on the agenda is the next board meeting we've had to move that back a week you know we decided christmas was the busiest month and then may came and we decided may was the busiest month now june is looking like it's the busiest month of the month of the year so we've had to move that board meeting back another week it'll be june 28th at 5 p.m at this at this location so is there any conflicts with the board in doing that i know that's getting close to the 4th of july weekend in family vacations so oh it's your wedding anniversary well congratulations maybe we'll yeah remember that's that's pretty cool all right so we just need a motion to adjourn i have a motion for margaret second from everybody all in favor that's unanimous also
okay and do i have a second oh second okay we'll call out vote trustee kelly i don't know what we're voting on oh i apologize um voting on the consent agenda with item 20 removed uh hi okay trustee lee hi trustee hi trustee anderson hi and chair bosai consense agenda is approved about 20 removed moving on to item 20 of the consent agenda resolution number 26 21 22 committed fund balance designation okay and do i have a second discussion well after move to approve the [Music] for discussion okay so on the floor um okay i thought she i wasn't sure what we're discussing i'm not sure what your questions are so let me go ahead and just start the discussion that's okay okay so for item number 20 approved the resolution to commit the committed fund balance designation so i just wanted to say um you know it's an awful lot of money that we have that needs to be allocated out and i know that we've made an excellent plan for spending it which is great and i just want to make sure that we actually you know are able to follow through with a significant portion of that particularly the hvac i wanted to thank you for allocating that much money to hvac repairs or replacement um and just you know just making a note that we will be following through on sending the excess funds i know it seems funny i'm always talking about western state solvents but at the same time the people who have paid that money towards education expect that money to be spent now towards education and that's why the cap is triggered maybe they said you could explain the cap for the public's benefit that would be great okay so there are different tests from the state government there's three different tests and what that means is when a certain amount of money is put into certain accounts at the state level it triggers so that school districts can't keep more than 10 of their excess funds in reserve um the triggers are complicated and i didn't write them all down and so i don't have those memorized but the bottom line is we can't have more than 10 of undesignated funds in our account so what you do is you commit those funds now they've already been committed in our minds so there's two for example the carryover of unspent school site discretionary funds we already know that we let school sites have the funds that they carry over from year to year it's never been a board agenda where you made a resolution to do that just that's just been past practice for our district so when i look at how much money we have to spend i have to take out that amount that we let dudley keep that they can spend this year and roll over to the next year um and we do that because they save their money for bigger projects and then the carryover of unspent supplemental concentration grants we receive funds for our students who are english learners who are low income and who are fostering so we get um of our base funding for every one student who's called an unduplicated people and then when we get above 55 of our students who are unduplicated pupils we get 50 of our funding for every student above 55 tile um that money is called supplemental concentration grants and that has to be spent on those students so that is in its own resource that i track to make sure that it's now path however we're meeting with students needs and that we don't spend it on other things like a school bus well actually that does count but something that doesn't count before um and so that's already set aside this is just making it official that we have a purpose for these funds and then the two million dollars for maintenance that is something that's extra we just know that we have some safety concerns with fencing it in north country that we need to address we have some old asia apps that we want to replace etc so this is how we came up with this amount or these items we have an empty fund balance projected to be about 14.7 million dollars and we can keep about seven million dollars undesignated that's the 10 amount so that gives us um a total of about 10.2 million dollars that we need to commit so two things to that one is it's not only fun one it's fun 17 also and we have 2.46 million dollars in fund 17 that we just kept there but that is considered special reserve extra funds so that is added to fund one we can figure out this calculation of how much we are allowed to keep undesignated um oh so i'm committing 8.4 million but i have projected 10.2 million dollars that there might we might need to commit this is just um this is something that is supposed to be finalized let me actually close the books and see how much money you have left so this is just getting me through the budget and the presumed amount but it will be different money falls out and then we're also spending money so we'll see how it all shakes out in september and then i might have to recommit more and then to the point of are we really going to spend it on this the board's committed i have to spend it on this so i will have to report to you how much you've spent in each of these categories and if we finish all of our maintenance projects and we don't need that money anymore then you'll have to do another resolution to uncommit those funds and apply it somewhere else yes kelly i don't excuse me i'm not sure you're aware or not um historically we always kept 10 in that time and that's what saved us and bailed us out many times you lost your sounds um and i'm pleased to hear that we're still doing that ten percent but that's if that's something you want to look at maybe we could talk about it at a later meeting but that's what saved us when we had the big crashes on school funding and that's why we were better off than the other bishops around us would lay off some things it's because we had that money to fall back on and one of one of the things i would add to just two points to that is the funds that we're talking about here these are these ongoing funds they are one time right so it's important we've had a big infusion of code funds and we're trying to expand those to say expire or you lose them so we generated a lot the governor's new budget proposed has not another round of big big one-time funding because to ms anderson's point there likely could be some sort of clip so one of the things is we have to expend these dollars but we also are being extremely conservative because if you look at the economy today usually california's budget is probably not going to be 95 billion surplus so one of the things we challenge with is trying to make sure we spend dollars but still stay going forward but if you look at our income versus expenditures you know in some years we're actually deficit spending so when i bring forward the budget for next month it'll show that next year we are spending more than we're taking it now that's before the may revises come out and there's so many changes in the potential changes in the july budget that they haven't hammered out that i can't put that in the budget yet so i know we'll actually receive more than we'll spend but the budget you'll see next month shows us that suspending next year and the year after that this is just one time kelly yeah so i i'm not sure if i missed anything that was said that i'm now going to repeat but i just wanted to make note that it does say that we're committed to how we're spending this unless we make a new resolution so that's an interesting um component of this that i wasn't aware of and kind of kind of glad to know that so that and then um what lisa would say i'm sorry what she was saying about um that she has to spend those funds is i'll also in my mind goodness because um you know i've known districts who will just allocate money to different things to make it look like they're they're not over on unallocated funds and but then not really fitted so it's really nice to know that we keep a really clean and um what's the word i'm looking for transparent process but i i really appreciate that about this district and um great job thank you thank you any other questions any other discussion on this topic okay let's have our vote trustee kelly hi trustee lee hi trustee aye trustee anderson hi and the chevrolet so it disapproved okay give me one moment to find my place on the agenda um just one note before we move forward um since we are having some sound issues let's all try to be very careful and deliberate to try not to overlap with each other as much as possible okay uh moving on to business items business item a first reading board policy zero four one five equity and education do i have a motion on this issue i'd like to motion a table uh this item and the reason for that mr president is that um it's my understanding we're signed up to go through an equity in government's training and it was supposed to be done a while ago and then it got possible and it got postponed and i really would like to undergo that training so that i have a better understanding of our responsibilities along with the superintendent larry trustee um [Music] yes that that is going to go through that um because i think this is such an important policy that rushing it um wouldn't be to the benefit of of us as a board or of the district and so that's why i'm making that motion to table and so we complete the training the equity government's training i think that makes sense um i'm sad that we won't have an equity policy in the interim and and that we could potentially change it if we see the need in the future but it also makes sense this way so we can see how the vote goes right i do believe one of the characteristics which when you brought that up i do believe that it does talk about districts making policies so my two cents with it i obviously spent time doing it but maybe it would be if we're informally come back so i don't see a harm in that if people are okay with it i i but i it is a correct statement and part of it is developing a equity statement for your district department so that's just my two cents okay um because we were there all day saturday three hours working on this when um we're hearing now that it was really maybe a waste of time yeah to just add my two cents i i'm feeling a little frustration over the idea of tabling this now after we did spend that time doing it i think the idea of tabling until after the training does not merit but at the same time if we were going to do that i feel like it would have been good to do that before our workshop and um there's the other part of me that's saying that's thinking you know i i feel well welcome to that discussion now that if we did approve this we could always amend it later after the workshop so there's that as well uh trustee kelly yeah i was just gonna say we we can always avenge it and also um the work that we did during the workshop i think that that would definitely be a springboard for anything we could do in the future so again i'm kind of sick of what now and revise it later or we can table it now and create it later we'll still use what we've developed as our starting point um and potentially it'll be perfect right so um either way however we want to go on this i'm happy either way okay any further discussion on the motion to table okay so a vote on whether or not to table this item trustee kelly can you start our rendering of the paper i've chosen the order for this meeting that's the order that we're progressing for this meeting that uh last meeting somebody got stuck on a vote so so the answer is no [Laughter] [Music] i kind of feel like we can we could amend it later so i'm going to know on tabling yet no with so are we continuing discussion yes we are continuing the discussion actually at this point i'm asking for a motion on the item right okay okay so trusty kelly is motioning to approve and trust me interested in second okay so now we can get into discussion on the item okay so my question um is what is the purpose of us going through the training then um that's almost exactly what i was going to say it's because going through training gets us more knowledge and we might find that we can make changes to this and make it even better but once you put an equity policy in place that becomes the guiding vision you know for the district and so we're going to be making this potential um i think it's a very weak policy i'm just going to say that that we have right now um i don't think it sets a vision as it should um and so that's why i was making that suggestion that we table uh until we actually get the training um i don't think it has an implementation plan on that so um i think it's not even really an equity policy it has written um so i'm just curious about the usefulness of continuing with that with the training if we're not using it to inform this policy or if we're going to just have a completely revised equity policy i'm worried about confusion uh us looking like we don't quite know what we're up to with respect to happening as a result it was decided amongst the board that were there that implementation is something that we would not do we set policy and district staff does the implementation and they come to us and we make suggestions or such um the other thing is if we had no intentions on doing the policy why did you request it to be on the agenda i didn't request it and i clarified this before no this was the policy was brought to the table by mr lair i guess the live stream is wrong when i re-watched the video because you did under advanced planning say that you wanted the equity statement um on the agenda it was not mr butter i've never put an equity statement that a template the boiler template on the agenda no you asked for it to be placed on the agenda no i did not i guess the life [Music] um is that without an implementation plan you don't have an equity plan and that that statement that was made it shows our lack of understanding of what an equity policy is and that's reflected in the draft um i think we really need to undergo the training so we understand what it is again when the board met the board members that attended the workshop which you did not attend um that's what we decided yeah i was unable to attend and the decision that was made reflects a lack of understanding of an equity policy and it really reflects some ignorance about equity and that is your opinion um the opinion of the sport that attended the workshop drafted this policy okay so trustee kelly yeah that couple of things so we um i think that having a policy in place sets the tone of where we want to go and and if we later decide oh we missed a whole bunch of points or we missed one thing whatever it is that we learned is only going to enhance the policy um and and make it better and so we've already decided that we're not going to table this so we are going to be making a world on it so at this point i would like to discuss the merits of the policy that we have drafted which was based on research uh of other districts uh equity policies and [Music] you know i know that we've discussed having an equity policy during these meetings there has been interest in in equity policy i can't you know with 100 certain people specifically say that trusting me was interested in in having that but you know i just feel like this is something that we have been talking about for quite a while and um there's definitely an interest from the community and i think we just need to move forward put a direction in place and if it gets better with the training then there's nothing wrong with that there's something bad about uh it's probably not it okay um just to add my opinion to the mix um yes this policy does not include an implementation plan because we as a board discussed it and it is the board's job to set the goals for the district and it's the superintendent's job to manage the implementation so we felt he would be over accepting our bounds to do an implementation and i think the statement that this shows that ignorance of what an equity plan is is completely off base i think what it shows is that we don't have an agreement on what an equity plan should be um you know we don't have a consensus on that but that's not the same as an ignorance and i think honestly that we put a lot of good work and uh there was a lot of discussion debate as the other hand she had her end up also so i'll be with you guys um i i think we put a lot of effort into this um and i think we i don't think we prompted a perfect document because i don't believe such a thing exists but um i also think that if the the idea was to hold off on doing this after the training the time to bring that up would have been the last meeting before we did the workshop and i think you know we we've done the work and we've crafted a policy and then you know we should either adopt the policy or work to amend the policy so trustee kelly yeah um in regards to an implementation plan i agree with chunky bruno that's kind of that the um is definitely up to district staff superintendent and on down but i see no reason why we can't ask for them to bring that forward to us so that we know what the implementation plan is and are not that we're going to change it necessarily but just that we're aware that the policy is being implemented but again our our goal is to set policy not procedures i mean well i don't know if i'm saying that properly our goal is to set policy and it's the district's role to um influence that policy so question on is there anything in the policy that we've drafted that is objectionable or needs revision uh let's circle around to that in a moment because we are waiting for cosmic comments um every meeting including this one every meeting including this one we sit here with a pack of policies that have to be revised is a constant thing that we do and this would be no different we've got a basic policy and we're going to have changes we know that nothing's perfect and it continues to grow and change so there's there's no reason for this to even be a debatable situation okay so uh echoing like trustee kelly was asking looking at the proposed policy itself does anyone have any comments suggestions edits anything like that that they would like to see okay trusty kelly yeah i think when i but i think they apprec minor and it were going to be reasonably going to get huge uh they were negligible but i i also wanted to point out that we had elections to ask for published comments on this discussion on this action i apologize for that if i just got it thank you very much for pointing that out i did miss that thank you do you have any comments on this issue we do okay i have angelina hughes online angelina please send you your mind angelina are you there are she still muted angelina can you hear us could the host on youtube hi there hi can you hear me yes i'm so sorry i didn't mean to raise my hand i apologize for that thank you very much sven okay do you have any other public comments [Music] okay we have a call for the vote um okay do i have a second on on the call for the vote okay uh so trustee kelly oh wait i'm sorry what's up oh wait the motion was to adopt and so now we're calling for the vote okay so the vote to adopt trustee kelly aye trustee lee hi trustee pope i trustee anderson aye and the chief outside paulson has been adopted okay and i just want to thank everyone that helps keep me on task with all cause it's an area where i struggle and i genuinely appreciate the corrections okay business item b west dead diversity equity and inclusion do i have a motion on this item motion to approve okay can you have a second on this motion i'll second okay um [Music] equity inclusion within the district originally we talked about doing some culturally responsive teaching practices which i do think is a good thing but as we uh mr jordan and myself and becky lawson talked with groups um talked to some pretty high-powered groups all of them said create a culture that allows and accepts otherwise your professional development will not stick and so when we went back went through the groups we leveled on westside we felt like we had a great connection with dr aaron i can't remember her last name for the life of me as i'm sitting here but we felt a great connection so what she'll start with with us is through westside building our capacity through we're actually going to rename it we have an equity task force and we're going to rename that and then start looking at that and then we also spoke with the national equity project and we really liked the lead with that so we're gonna possibly connect with her to have her come in and just kind of kind of as an independent person look at here's what we're doing where do we want to go um so anyway i think west end will do a great job of laying it out and then as we go through this and i'm telling the board now this is a long process this is not a one and done workshop this is going to be training that's systemic it could be four to six years and then ongoing um so it is a little bit different than what the board had asked me early on but i think now that we've all learned a little more as a district staff this will be good for us and as we move with the equity policy this is what will be our implementation practice so we're getting there so we'll be able to update you on that so with that we uh seek approval um and we're excited to get our team enrolling okay and before we move on to the session do we have any public comments on this island i would like to say thank you for the clarification um you explained a lot that i was going to ask anyway so thank you and i'm going to start somewhere so it's a good start okay so any further discussion on this issue she's on okay okay well then i guess we'll go to a boat i'm still here i i just i can't always hear everything everyone's saying but i thought the judgment okay so um are we ready for the vote then yep okay chelsea kelly you vote hi trustee lee hi hi busty pope hi trustee anderson hi i'm sure votes okay item c resolution number 25 2021-2022 resolution of the board of trustees the center joint unified school district the document proposal to limit the number of consecutive terms a member of the governing board may serve ordering an election on the proposal establishing specifications of the election order and requesting consolidation with other elections occurring on november 8th 2022.
okay so 10 more folks that signed up um and also i'd like to add when we do have time at the end that we always see if there's anybody else in the room who would like to speak as long as there's still time in that 30 minute time frame so just clarifying all of our rules for the sake of the audience and board members is what we're deciding on to extend this items from the floor time for anybody who has all signed up signed up who may be signed up for the later one but actually like to speak now and then if there's any additional people who would like to speak who have not signed up because we're going to go over our 30 minute time they they're more than welcome to stick around for the other items from the floor at the end of tonight that's my understanding thank you all right uh vote by name roll call robinson aye landau eye zorai dolby a tennis eye okay so the first speaker uh in this second group is dr christina lesner [Applause] again the same rules three minutes no one responds and it starts when i start greetings i'm part of podere a parent group at rosedale elementary dedicated to dignity and equity at our school i have children in kindergarten in fourth grade in all of the years my kids have attended rosedale i can tell you that our equity-based socio-cultural education has never been better this is entirely due to the new equity lead miss joanna campos and the focused hard work she has put into this position during her time at rosedale joanna focused on the four pillars of bilingual education attempted to address equity gaps at the school and organize engaging activities for federally recognized holidays such as latin x history month black history month women's history month and cedar chavez day joanna also helped lead a project to revitalize abandoned community garden creating a sense of belonging at our school during the pandemic despite widespread support for this effort by rosedale families joanna did not receive the protection from school administration or upper upper level administration and leadership from chico unified for her role as equity lead in fact ms campos was asked to leave rosedale campus in in april after the principal refused to grant her request to have a third party president in a meeting with a parent who has been repeatedly hostile and psychologically aggressive to joanna both in person and on social media since the beginning of the school year this is confusing to me because when i spoke with jay marchand on friday he told me that inviting a third party to hear conversations from with parents was a practice of his own and has been has been since he's been principal at marsh in fact he invited tina keene to our meeting for that reason additionally i received an email from jim hanlon yesterday communicating that for administration and i quote it is district policy to meet with every parent requesting a meeting unless they are physically potentially physically violent this is not aligned with the u.s department of labor which includes verbal abuse harassment and intimidation in their definition of workplace violence in a study published in 2021 pachego and colleagues reviewed 30 studies on psychological not physical aggression in that study they found that psychological aggression in the workplace is associated with anxiety anger and depression over time fear emotional exhaustion depersonalization and other physical symptoms such as musculoskeletal injury it is no wonder that our teachers and administrators are emotionally exhausted and sick given that it's a district policy to force administrators to meet with psychologically aggressive and hostile parents so long as they are not physically violent how do you expect anyone to adequately fulfill this role of equity lead that you profess to care so deeply about when these are the working conditions of the district no one will be able to truly do a good job as equity lead as long as they're under these conditions it is true a true injustice in our community that has happened and i'm not going to stop until these policies have been changed [Applause] maris thompson um kathy there was another one that was above that um they did not submit a name oh but uh somebody that had submitted one on may 16th at 8 52 p.m am right so i don't know if anybody knows when they um actually submitted it but what's your name yes all right i think we move on raris thompson [Applause] hello um i am i am really um here to talk about i guess a couple of things but first and foremost i am deeply appalled by what has happened to joanna campos on many levels and i really feel compelled to share thoughts with you tonight about what's happened i'm a community member i'm an educational academic and in the 14 years that i've lived in chico i have witnessed many leaders of color come and go in chico unified most of them do not stay as they feel compelled or they feel that they can make greater change in more racially diverse communities elsewhere joanna campos's suspension is shameful she is a committed and courageous innovative leader who was tasked with doing equity work that matters to her students and school community equity work is hard work and the cultural change it requires takes a lot of time it takes a lot of conversations it takes navigating a lot of resistance we know that part of this work involves continual education of the public and professional development within our profession by suspending her chico unified is giving up this important opportunity to retain the kind of leadership talent that it really desperately needs and the kind of curricular reform deserved by its most marginalized students and parents and community members rosedale is the only or oldest dual immersion school in the district the county and the north state retaining strong and culturally representative leadership at schools serving multilingual children is the district's ethical obligation and is supported by decades of research [Applause] rather than suspend her why not invite her and upset her confused parents to the table and facilitate a conversation about what equity looks like could look like why not promote greater understanding and growth for everyone in our educational community through this experience suspending her only does one thing it sees fear and suspicion and cowardice it also sends a very clear message to innovative future teachers who our district desperately needs and administrators who our district desperately needs and that message is that chico unified is not a district that welcomes educational change i stand with joanna and demand her immediate reinstatement thank you [Music] [Applause] i just have a first name for the next one christopher no last name first name all right joanna campos [Applause] before i speak i'd like to hold a moment of silence for the beautiful lives that were taken by peyton gendron in buffalo new york i was raised in the christian church and although i no longer identify as christian jesus's teachings deeply impact my identity and how i view the world jesus used to speak in parables parables are a simple story used to teach a moral or spiritual lesson i'm going to attempt to speak using a parable in jesus words if anyone has ears to hear let them hear act one the mistake there once was a dedicated third grade teacher who prepared a special unit for her class she spent hours on it she often stayed till seven o'clock in her classroom on the day she introduced the first lesson she was excited but exhausted her class filed into the room that morning and she noticed that when mario mario went by he did not smile when she started to tell the class about the wonderful new unit mario mumbled boring she attempted to continue to talk but mario continued to interrupt more loudly boring she lost her patience and yelled stop it will you just stop do you know how long i've been staying here after school to plan this for you you're so annoying get out get out of my classroom the whole class fell silent none of her students could look her in the eye act two reflection at home she started to sob she shed she she had broken her students trust she disrespected mario and the entire class but why was he being so rude and then it came to her you see mario couldn't read yet he was attempting to express that her lesson wasn't going to work for him and he did it in the only way he knew how he resisted act 3 repentance the next day she started by apologizing to mario in front of the entire class she told him she loved him and that what she did was wrong she asked for his forgiveness and then she asked the entire class for forgiveness they all ran up to hug her and they hugged mario too she also fixed the lesson she told mario that she wanted school to be fun for him he told her he wanted more art and so she listened the rest of the year she remembered to make lessons that nathan that mario could get excited about ted sullivan the director of ed once praised me by saying i can see you have the qualities of a strong leader because you're smart and schmoozy he was right about the first one throughout our year-long text stream he also said that i was engaging in some high quality leadership badassery in another text he said that roselle was happy very happy to have me but the best compliment he gave to me was that he admired how self-reflective i was he said he was certain that i'd be the leader of a school one day all right i challenge you all to reflect thank you thank you three minutes all right our next speaker [Applause] our next speaker is ambrosia currency krensky [Applause] hi i emailed several of you this morning um happy to be here and i'd like to introduce my daughter ida patino yeah you want to talk about yourself and your experience with joanna um um so i really like joanna and she started the garden program and all of my friends would always tell me like the garden's open and want to go and i would always say yes because like it was super fun learning how to do the stuff and she was always very welcoming to the kids that would go there and i and like when people started saying oh joanna's not the vice principal anymore i really thought it was just a rumor and that it would pass but then uh i found out that was actually real that makes me made me feel really sad because i thought it felt really good to have a vice principal that looked like me and would give good activities to like the kids who wanted them and taught them how to do new helpful things to help the community [Applause] um hello hola mi amo ambrosia um i am a mother and i am a teacher in paradise for six years now um i'm also a student and passionate about human and indigenous rates um when we found out we were pregnant we had just graduated from college we found out about mias qualitamia and we enrolled her as soon as we could we viewed rosedale as a natural extension of that process and we second grader so year three year three we step on campus and i see johanna i see an administrator that looks like my daughter that can speak spanish to her family and it was just so beautiful and i think i took that for granted i didn't realize what a special gift we'd been given and when people started slamming her on social media i didn't take enough notice i did not defend her as i should have johanna lost my spot um let me talk about me a little bit more first as a new teacher i needed a lot of support i'm on year six and i had a lot of support a lot of people helped me grow as an educator and for that i'm very grateful and i made mistakes and that's part of the growth process and i did not get fired i got nurtured and i grew and i'm a very effective educator yeah i think that johanna is also worthy of investing in i know she isn't worthy of investing in from the heart she leads with strength and compassion she facilitated my daughter's iep this year and she did it with grace that's your three minutes thank you our next speaker is andrea lopez andrea lopez all right our next speaker then is benito okay [Applause] hello board my name is berito barca sanchez i'm a parent of two in the chicken unified school district i'm here as a consumer parent with the inconsistent implementation of school policy and the lack of ensuring that all students are treated equally in all aspects of education i say this because my daughter has been threatened with suspension over her misuse of words yet other children make actual threats and the response for the administration is boys will be boys children should be able to express their frustration towards others when boundaries are crossed without the fear of repercussion all children should be heard equally after my daughter came home that day i voiced my displeasure i her lack of apathy for others in her choice of words to which she responded in tears papa please don't i already had a really bad day at school i missed all my breaks she was punished as if she was making a threat over the misuse of words while others are given a free pass i wrote a concert email to the principal and i couldn't even get a response until i got assistant superintendent involved yet other parents are allowed to have private meetings put together by the principal to allow a specific parent a face-to-face meeting with the assistant principal so that the parent could voice their displeasure at the equity agenda put together by the equity lead of the school in the second she refuses at the equity i mean the second she refuses due to the lack of representation on her part you suspend her you got rid of the administration that is able to relate to 71 of all the students at the school okay since when since when is it proper for administration officials to contradict one another we all know that a divided kingdom cannot stand yet the principle found it okay to hold such meeting after the assistant principal voiced her concern maybe you all should go personally and speak to the children okay to see how your decisions is impacting them it is your duty to ensure that all students regardless of race color national origin ethnicity and disabilities are treated equally in all aspects of education you talk about your commitment to serve all children and community with integrity and how you have grown to understand the many perspectives of people yet you seem to fall short to some of us parents here today not only did the principal not respond to my emails i'm yet to hear from any one of you you are right about one thing you know that our local representation should reflect the diversity of its constituents yet is not reflected here today because 50 of your students are minority thank you [Applause] our next speaker is kate [Applause] good evening and thank you for having us here um to speak i want to speak specifically about getting some more answers about joanna's position and what happened to her she was hired as equity lead for the school which came with no job description which for me in and of itself is disturbing and disappointing that it says to me that there wasn't care and thought and time put into what this role was meant to be and the person and what the person in that role was supposed to do at the schools for the students for the teachers and for the staff joanna came into the role coming from you know a background in bilingual education and successfully starting a dual immersion program in orland so she came from a background in bilingual education where like all of our students graduating from chico state's bilingual education program they're trained to teach from a social justice lens so she came into that role not only wanting to ensure the success and comfort of all the parents and families but to make sure that those who were who are most vulnerable and most marginalized are not forgotten she came into the role um not realizing that she'd need to expose some of this the disparities um for example the fact that rosedale's dual immersion program is currently not in the 50 50 balance that it needs to be in 50 native spanish speakers 50 percent english speakers for the program to be successful for all families but especially for english language learners which we know that um statistically our english language learners are struggling academically in our district so i'm looking for transparency sincerity and authenticity and in that vein i want to be sincere and telling all of you what i can ascertain up to this point is that joanna was pushed out of her position because of the loud and aggressive opposition of a few while the those of us who were supportive and loved what she was doing at the school were ignored and so what i'd like to hear from the district leadership is if they didn't what did she ex what did they expect her to do in that role since there was no job description provided and if they didn't like what was being done or if they have chosen to support this position to suspend her what do they want to see done in that role what was that role supposed to be and what do they think that equity will look like in our schools right that's your three minutes thank you [Applause] the next speaker is jeff blake jeff blake [Applause] i want to say um i need to step out to support my son at a music concert that he's doing with solo in but i want to thank everybody who came tonight i appreciated your comments and i'm sorry that i won't be able to hear the rest of you during this item so thank you go ahead jeff okay hi thanks for taking the time today um i'm here i have a three kids at rosedale and i'm standing here because i just can't sit idly by and watch some of my kids friends and fellow classmates struggle when there's a solution somebody that can make a real difference standing in the back of this room somebody that's made a big impact on a lot of the students the majority of the parents have her support and just because a few loud voices decided to make a stir she's gone i recently spoke to a teacher at rosedale who said that they never felt so supported by any administrator as they did with joanna campos they went on to say that joanna had so much on her plate that they didn't know how she was able to do it but she did it's clear to me that many of the teachers appreciated what she did the majority of parents appreciated what she did i were i had the privilege of working on the the garden project with the number of people here and a few times i dropped off plants and supplies during school hours and dozens of kids just flocked around joanna just for their opportunity to help out carry a plant or just talk with her it is clear that at a time when uncertainty and fear linger in our in these kids lie you know minds that somebody who is an uplifting presence should be valued by the school and by the administrators not suspended so that's my peace and thank you all right that is the end of our speakers list and we will now move to the consent calendar does anyone wish to pull an item from the consent calendar sorry just to clarify this items from the floor we did go overtime by about we started at 6 16 i wrote it down so we are over time by about 11 minutes um if i can do my math right on the fly however we can hear another round of um of speaker comments during the next items from the floor so if there's anybody in the audience who would like to stick around and hear the rest of the meeting which we always welcome as well as take that opportunity to speak at that items from the floor please feel free to stay and it will be open at that point we don't have any other speaker card signups but we will ask for any comments from the audience if there is anybody that sticks around and would like to speak on on any on any particular thing we're moving to the consent calendar is there anyone that wishes to pull an item from the consent calendar all right if there is none may i have a motion sure i'll move adoption on the consent calendar okay we have a motion in a second i'll second that motion all right so we have a motion and a second to approve the consent calendar uh we'll do a roll call vote robinson i kaiser eye dolby a all right vote passes four to zero okay we now move to the discussion action calendar and we have midwell junior's engagement strategies with native american communities mr david mckay good evening thank you for this opportunity to share a little bit about the story behind the land acknowledgement that the matuto tribal council was kind enough to write for bible junior high school so i was asked to elaborate a little bit on that journey and here tonight my friend and colleague rachel mcbride was not able to make it tonight due to another commitment but we collaborated on this message and she wanted me to again apologize for her not being able to be here and would be happy to answer any questions at a later date that may come up so two years ago bitwell junior high school seized a moment to talk with our linguistically and culturally diverse families about how we can more intentionally and effectively reach out to them to make sure that their students were felt as welcome as possible so that families felt as welcomed and included in our school community as possible you can see from year in and year out on educational data not just at bible junior high school but on a bigger scale that linguistically and culturally diverse students experience disproportionately negative educational outcomes and so to me it seemed like there's some barriers to success there for a significant percentage of our students and so in order to try to identify what those barriers were so that we could remove them it made sense to me that we needed to have conversations with folks who were the closest to those lived experiences so with cobin those conversations took place in my backyard and they were great and we quickly identified some early momentum other early objectives that we could accomplish that would immediately send a positive message to to all of our families particularly our linguistically and culturally diverse families so when the fall came along and we had that those groups going that group going part of that process involved having some rather candid conversations with families who i suspected had been marginalized in one way shape or form by our school um and and one in particular it was through a disciplinary process that um it was it was somewhat contentious for for one of our processes and i just i felt like there was something unresolved there and so i reached out to the parent and asked her to have a really candid conversation with me about the same topic about the barriers to success for her student and her perspective on that i wanted to listen to that especially as the school year was starting off and i really wanted that student to feel like they had a new start here and that we were really doing everything that we could to support that family and so that parent was kind enough to oblige me we had a great conversation and that led me to reach out anew to some partners in our native american community with whom i'd worked for a long time but i realized that i hadn't reached out to recently and really invited them to a candid honest conversation about how bible junior high school could do more for their students from the native american community's perspective and so those conversations started with rachel mcbride with whom i had worked for a long time and we had we started a collaborative native american community bible junior high school collaborative and we met regularly to identify again some early points for improvement things that we could do right away and so um a lot of that involved a mosaic not just one thing but like many things that we could do and so um as a way of recognizing the the government-to-government relationship that is unique to the native community a lot of those communications went through the tribal council and then when we got to the land acknowledgement we went and we met with superintendent staley and chairman ramirez and rachel mcbride and i we met and discussed what that would look like and so there's a lot of education involved for all of us and especially with respect to that government-to-government relationship that is so important to recognize the federally federally recognized native american groups that government to government entities we wanted to respect that and instill that and cultivate that in our community and so some of the priorities that we identified were creating more intentional time and space and priority for our native american youth group and so that included dedicated time dedicated space more time on campus more of a seamless transition into our regular school day as opposed to a stand-alone program or something that at times could feel disjointed another priority was the walls or our campus how are we representing and honoring the original inhabitants of the land on which the campus resides then the troop the people and so we collaborated uh with local artists including ali meadors knight and christian garcia who went to bidwell himself on a beautiful machuta themed mural in one of our hallways and we opened that with a native american family culture night that featured booths from the native american community and just invited parents and students to come and experience and learn about the history of the people who first inhabited the land and are still still enjoy that unique spiritual relationship to the the land on which our school resides including in that process was identifying and planting some native plants and being able to educate students about their original purposes and their names that is an ongoing work in progress we also developed a world cultures class which has since been changed to cultural experiences and that the purpose of that class is to study uh cultural history with respect to some local uh communities as uh in particular in butte county um including the machuta people and inviting community organizations to come in um as cultural mentors to educate students and guide them through a fun enlightening experience of food music culture history uh tradition and and just honoring again being intentional about honoring that in our in our curriculum we invited our native american friends to have more of a presence on campus through the cultural mentor just being there so kids were used to seeing their cultural mentors on campus being able to drop in on those cultural mentors being open to talking with them if a student was starting to experience early warning signs of some trouble being able to talk to that cultural mentor about what strategies may help this student may work with the student or what's going on with the student that we may not know about that gives us some insights into how we can connect that student more intentionally to our school community and so that was a part of it and later in that process came the land acknowledgement piece so it wasn't just this once and done we want to put something on our stationary it was meant to to represent a part of the mosaic that we're trying to and still are continuously trying to create a bible junior high school that includes everybody that honors everybody that's intentional about everybody and the land acknowledgement is just simply that it's a way of acknowledging on a regular basis an intentional basis that the mature people were the original inhabitants of the land and and they they still continue to this day um enjoy a unique spiritual relationship to the land and we just want to honor that we want to be intentional about that in what we do so that's the the story about where we we came to right now and i'm happy to answer any questions anybody might have do you want to just read the land acknowledgement agreement that you have included yes absolutely thank you so again this land announcement was written by and approved by the matchup the tribal council and and we of course accepted it as written we acknowledge and are mindful that bidwell junior high school stands on lands that were originally occupied by the first people of this area the matchup and we recognize their distinctive spiritual relationship with this land the flora the fauna and the waters that run near campus we are humbled that our campus resides upon sacred lands that since time immemorial has sustained the mature people and continues to do so today [Applause] we'll turn it over the board if there's any questions questions anyone i don't have a question i i just have a comment to uh to you principal mckay um this has been something that um hasn't happened often enough in our area i know that you know as a native of this area and having visited uh bengal mansion and some other places where some of the history of the machuka and the maidu and some of the other tribes within the area i became aware that there were significant um periods of time when the land was being purged of the native tribes and it was it was a sickening thought to realize the violence in in the background of some of our our cultural experiences with our native peoples so i appreciate that you have done this in conjunction with others in our native population and um appreciate and hope that the some of the truths of things that happen in our settlement period and you know in this area are are known and recognized because they they aren't things that we uh we should do anything other than honor the peoples that that were left that are left that are that are still here um i have a candid question um can you remind me the the mascot of bidwell junior high pioneers that's what i thought that's what i thought i remembered um i was curious don't answer this question i'm just curious if that if that came up in those discussions um with the tribe if that's a contentious point um considering pioneers are the people who took over this land and purged the land of the original people that were here i really appreciate your work and i think that you're you always have been i've always respected you since i was i think you gave my keynote speech when i graduated from the credential program um and so you're always somebody that i've highly regarded and respected as as the top leader in this community in our educational community and it's always a treat when you come and share what you're doing with us and i have it on my list to come see you and come around campus and just get to see some of the stuff that you're doing in real time for every kid every day um and so thanks for bringing this to us because it was something that i had brought up a while ago um that feels like it was kind of like what you said you just you know one and done like let's get this let's get this conversation going and really it was let's get this conversation going and then kelly informed us that some some of that has already been going on and you're always you're always ahead of of the curve so thank you for bringing that to us thank you i'm humbled by your words thank you and and keep your eye on the the gym sign for some some changes to answer your question yes not the main part um by the choice of our native community partners but where we've been working on rebranding what we mean by pioneer and i think the new gym sign that we're working with our community to develop is going to reflect that as has some of the imagery that we've already had in our student store has done thanks for sharing that we have an area that has a diverse number of tribes and so that's another aspect that although the machuca had this land there are many tribal members that now live here from other tribes too so it's good that native americans from different tribal groups could have that same welcome you know since i think that's extremely positive so i really thank you for your presentation excellent any other questions all right thank you so much thank you appreciate it all right [Applause] um next i want to call up uh tina is yeah for the annual spring charter school visit report which was quite thorough and large i think that's how we describe all of tina's reports i know pretty much pretty much good evening thank you board uh for having me tonight and i want to welcome our friends from the charter schools the leaders that are here behind me with the exception of one she had an event at her school tonight and couldn't make it which is certainly understandable it's a busy time so thank uh thank you all for being here we've gotten to know each other very well over the last uh several years and through covent in particular because of challenges that we've all faced uh we have had a lot of commonalities and similarities and it's it's nice to have these folks in the community so every year i do a a visit and review kind of update sharing what they're doing at their sites and you're right it was quite extensive we have nine charters that we authorize uh here and they are here tonight if you have any questions on that this is an informational item only and we welcome any questions you have they're happy to to answer anything well perhaps you want to invite them up uh you know of course charter represent representative um i will say that a very consistent theme that showed up was that each of the charters is attempting to deal with equity in their and inclusion in their own schools so that shows up and that it's an emerging process it it is a common theme that we're all experiencing and learning about together so yes please uh come up i'll have them introduce themselves and tell you which site they're at so you can see their faces and names all right and you don't have to fight over who gets a mic first it's like you know okay hi everybody my name is wendy farrow and i'm the director of education at chico country day school all right hello my name is michelle yazbek and i'm the director of sherwood montessori all right good evening i'm kathy dahlgren i'm the principal superintendent of nord country school all right and i am allison ward education director at nord country school all right good evening i'm susan dominiguini executive director of blue oak charter school good evening becky brown inspired school of arts and sciences good evening i'm stephen wright the principal of chief charter school chico good evening travis bennett i'm the site administrator for pivot charter north valley all right so so we're missing forest ranch yes yes that i missed she was sorry to miss it so what i saw as a common theme was that in your attempts to pull in some equity uh leadership um the next question of course is well how well do we assess what they were doing and helping with your school because then maybe we'd steal them you know i mean so but that is a question like how do you assess their impact see now nobody wants to run up i love to talk about it um yeah i know you can change the height there you go i might start doing some karaoke though watch out um you know that this is a really long process and i think it starts as internal work creating a place of safety respect and trust where you can enter into these conversations and know that it's okay to misstep but it has to start with the internal work you have to keep that north star of who we're working for right the kids and we've found really great thought partners with us we've been working with bcoe and framed all of our work around anti-racist anti-bias education like let's not even we don't even need to talk about equity that's that's watering it down a little bit it's anti-racist work so we started there and we had a lot of brave conversations and then you know it's one thing to attract families to the school but then we need to have structures in place so that they they see themselves reflected and they want to stay there so our pedagogical approach of project-based learning ensures that people see not a narrow view of what smart is but a very broad view of what smart is and ways that they see themselves reflected in our daily curriculum so that's that's kind of where we've started we've you know it's been difficult we've had some missteps for sure we've also had just those brave conversations that allow more people to grow and think through things on a really deep level so we don't have the secret sauce but we're trying all right good um i'd like to comment i when i went through all of the reports i made notes as i went through and i can remember chico country day my notes reflected a number of the things that um that i know i've exchanged in the way of comments with you since i've been on the board and i went ah they're making progress and i i appreciated that that progress is being made i saw adding diversity to your board members was a good start i saw that that you were reaching out to your lgbtq plus students and supporting them and um that you know that that's a brave thing in a lot of a lot of times but oh my gosh it's one of the things that saves lives not only does it make students lives happier but it saves lives too because that's where a lot of our a lot of our suicide is uh exhibited with with those children who can't find acceptance so the fact that you're openly talking and dealing with that means acceptance is on its way i appreciated that um with uh there there was oh the um the fact that you do those presentations on i just i i remember before covid just before covid that that one of those things had happened and thought yay they they still got there and i know all of us are trying to rebuild so many things that we lost during covet so to all of you uh i appreciate the fact that you're you know continuing to turn around and look back at what you're doing and how you're doing it for the best interest of the kids and i applaud you all and am happy that we do have a place for all of our kiddos and families in this district you know the fact that some of our charters are very small doesn't mean they aren't meeting a huge need so i appreciate all of you regardless of the size of your school you're doing great work for the kids of chico thank you thank you all righty if there are no further questions for these folks i'm happy to tell them to head home i know it's a busy evening and busy rest of their week so um they can take off until next year when we see them again but i keep in contact with them a lot we have open communication quite often so tina uh is our next um authorization in two years is our first one up in two years so because of covid one of the uh i call it another coveted casualty or maybe a silver lining i'm not sure in this case uh we did have legislation that extended for two more years so it will be in 20 where i'm looking for kathy 23 24.
since that time mr gregory has been the superintendent of schools in academy school district 20. mr gregory earned his master's degree in educational leadership and his principles licensure from the university of colorado at colorado springs he earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics and his secondary school teaching license from the university of southern colorado tom thank you for your leadership of district 20. please join me in welcoming an enthusiastic supporter of discovery canyon campus superintendent mr tom gregory [Applause] well thank you dr wahlstrom and congratulations to the discovery canyon campus high school class of 2022 take this very special moment in celebration of your accomplishments but capture the sights the sounds emotions smells the heat everything you're experiencing right now and pride that you're feeling today and use that as you propel yourselves forward before i go on i want to take a few minutes just to recognize a few students sitting on the floor uh if i could ask mr charlie hund alex luna benavidez and varsha ramesh to stand please [Music] [Applause] and i promise you it's not to embarrass you these students please please still stand charlie thank you i'd like to take a moment to celebrate these students for participating in my student advisory council this past year their honest feedback insightful input and energetic engagement represented the discovery canyon campus high school student voice admirably you should be proud of how they represented you thank you alex thank you charlie and thank you varsha now you can sit down today as we gather with family and friends to recognize and celebrate you i'd like to share a little bit about you share a little bit about my uncle mike with you it has been nearly 40 years since i sat in the seat you're sitting in in nearly that long since him and i had a casual conversation yet his words of wisdom stick with me today in fact i believe his words have shaped at least part of my life but before i share his wisdom with you is important to first understand a few things about my uncle mike first my father was the youngest of five siblings his eldest sister was 15 years older than he was my uncle mike married my dad's eldest sister my uncle mike was 12 years older than my dad's eldest sister why do i tell you all that my uncle born in 1912 was really more like a grandfather by age than he was an uncle uncle mike lived through the great depression and experienced the same poverty and hardship that so many others faced during that time this experience left him a no-nonsense no frills hard-working brutally honest strict but yet sometimes gentle man his nickname was froggy i never learned exactly why he got that nickname but it stuck with him his entire life he grew his own fruits and vegetables in his garden that occupied most of his one acre property in canyon city colorado when you visited his home you knew there was no doubt you followed his rules and if you didn't he had a special voice that demanded conformity it was gruff it was direct it was short on words he had innate and an innate ability to be intimidating at least for me he loved to fish and hunt not necessarily for the sport but out of necessity he had a non-negotiable rule when fishing you had to eat whatever you caught if you caught four fish you better be prepared to eat four fish i learned to be very aware of how many fish i was catching and may have secretly once in a while released a few fish back to the water both out of fear and respect as a result of having lived through the great depression uncle mike had no trust in the banking system he was reluctant to deposit money did not use credit and refused any sort of debt he operated only in cash his investments if he wanted to invest was buying gold and hiding that gold throughout his property and throughout the inside of his home uncle mike was never one who liked having a boss he was not a personality to accept oversight nor did he like being told what to do as a result he and my aunts opened a drive-in restaurant in canyon city named it froggy's poor boy the drive-in was very successful in canyon city and after a few years they opened froggy's poor boy drive-ins throughout the west including the cities of or towns of wallsenburg colorado durango cortez and the last one in moab utah he operated these drive-ins along with my aunt until they retired in 1963.
thank you and our graduation would not be complete without a speech from our principal mr nathan gorge thanks holly when i think of each graduating class i try to come up with a few words that capture the essence of the class as i thought about you the class of 2021 it made me smile and laugh and cry but i had a wave of memories that i would like to share but i will not name names in order to protect the innocent and the guilty i thought about some of you organizing a shoe drive to send gently used shoes and clothing to underprivileged kids around the world i thought of watching some of you find your passion through career start courses and the international beauty academy i thought about watching some of your confidence grow as you realize the untapped potential you had as an artist as a student as an athlete i thought about seeing some of the music and the art you've created and that you use to express the best of what we all hope to be i thought of trying to trick one of you who is visually impaired by trying to disguise my voice it's true i thought of watching some of you try to battle senioritis but for some of you that started in ninth grade i thought of the barriers that some of you are breaking as an athlete with a disability who's able to put to shame able-bodied athletes i thought about watching some of you play baseball in 120 degree temperatures and having buckets of ice water dumped on your heads i thought about some of you getting in trouble with your parents because you were buying damaged vehicles from an auction when you were supposed to be in class i thought of some conversations with some of you about just how bad the rockies and the broncos are playing i thought about the grace watching some of you dance and telling you if you needed a sub for the performance i was ready and available to take your place in the nutcracker i thought about telling some of you that you're actually students you're not staff members when you tried to show up to our faculty meetings and i thought of telling some of you to stop laughing so much this is school it's not supposed to be fun but the word i think about the most is joy the passion you all brought to life the smiles you have that can light up a room one of my favorite phrases with that i share with our staff every year at our staff retreat is that i want our school to unleash hope on the world and when i think about the members of this class i need to warn the world watch out world here comes the hope because you represent the best in us and i can't thank you enough for allowing our school to be part of your journey so now miss reynolds it's with the greatest of pride that we present to you the members of the class of 2021 as the principal of the village i hereby certify that these young men and women have met the requirements for graduation from village high school and academy school district 20 and therefore i recommend each of them for their diplomas mr gorsh on behalf of the board of education of academy district 20 i accept with pride and pleasure the 2021 graduating class of village high school mr gorsh thank you your faculty and your staff for an outstanding job [Applause] thank you so graduates please stand up and line up staff members please prepare to present our seniors now each graduation seniors get the opportunity to choose one of our staff members to present them this is a high honor for our staff and they will do their best to hold it together and to not cry too much so i now present to you the graduating class of 2021.
[Applause] one more round of applause for the class presidents next up the discovery canyon campus varsity choir under the direction of miss alyssa miller performing cece nee moya we are we all feel pain we are many languages [Music] hey [Music] we all want [Music] we [Music] the morning [Music] hey [Music] hey [Music] hey [Music] hey we are [Applause] one more round of applause for the varsity choir serenading beach balls i suppose if you make it through the pandemic school year you can do the beach balls but [Applause] no more congratulations and again one more round of applause for the varsity choir next up shreya vijay will address the class of 2021 good morning everyone on behalf of this graduating class we're honored to welcome all families faculty and guests to the 2021 commencement celebration of discovery canyon campus high school congratulations to each of the 251 seniors for graduating but most importantly getting one step closer to moving out of our parents basements i'd like to thank families and teachers for helping us come this far class of 2021 i'm incredibly proud of each and every one of us and i can't wait to see what each of you will accomplish in your bright future classmates we've indeed been through some rough times like finishing high school amidst a pandemic having stage two senioritis getting outbursts of pimples to scare away our crush luckily this year introduced the trendiest piece of clothing to the fashion industry masks we wear to protect us from spreading germs contracting germs and it also makes us look half approachable for our crush to not cringe at our zitty faces wanna hear an irony two years ago if someone walked up to us with a mask we think that danger was approaching us but now we all wear masks to protect ourselves from danger approaching us it's funny how time changes despite experiencing the wicked curveballs of reality we've come incredibly far to now finally be able to say that this is our day we can celebrate that from here onwards we will never and i mean never have to use significant figures ever again hallelujah as we've officially branched out of our cocoons and can soar into the real world now we're highly equipped with all the skills from high school to prepare us for it like analyzing 20th century music videos memorizing the periodic table writing geometric proofs doing long division with polynomial okay okay you get the point stuff that all adults actually do on a daily basis for example in math i learned how to take the area underneath the squiggly line but how does that help me file my taxes but jokes aside school has however taught all of us to show commitment in what we do at dcc with a graduation rate of over 94 we've worked over 720 days with over 5040 hours of classroom instruction these strenuous hours have trained each of us to increase our mental endurance to better equip us to work in college or to pursue a job and what's the reward of all this you may ask success it's the success that comes out of it whether that may be in the form of a physical reward a verbal acknowledgement or just simple satisfaction a renowned songwriter television personality and successful businesswoman once said if it's up then it's up then it's up then it's stuck in other words cardi b taught me that aiming higher and working towards your goal by showing commitment will help to achieve greatness as you will be stuck high in the clouds afterward looks like analyzing music videos in english did come in handy after all well played there mr jameson well played so here's my advice to you class of 2021 to achieve success takes persistence determination drive and passion and attending school for over 12 years in total now shows the amount of commitment we put forth to reaching our goals after all we are the dc thunder and legend has it we've got the speed and power and we will bring the attack to go fight win thank you thank you shreya i now have the honor of introducing a person who is extremely invested in the discovery canyon class of 2021 and we are very grateful for all the contributions and support he has extended to the discovery canyon campus community born and raised in the academy district 20 school district tom gregory has a passion for the educational process and thrives on helping others succeed he was a classroom teacher for 11 years a school administrator for four years and completed his 14th year as the leader for the business operations at academy district 20 in 2019.
hello seniors i'm mr t i'm your principal i didn't see you much this year and when i did you were ran a mask and i didn't know who you were i thought for a long time about what i want to share with you before you depart as graduates i'm gay i'm guessing this may have been the most difficult and most disappointing school year you have ever had i know it was the hardest in my 29 year career as an educator there was a time at the beginning of the school year when i wanted to throw in the towel i actually explored what my options were to retire early and walk away from the madness of covid the changes in protocols from the health department the difficulty of starting school with no students in the building and the scot and the constant pivots drove me into a downward spiral i thought about how easy it would be to just quit and walk away from all of this i didn't have another plan if i went down this road i just wanted out of what this was i was feeling pretty down disappointed and lost maybe that is how you felt at times then one day in september i walked through the hallways of the school and i saw the teachers engaging with the students both the few in the classroom and the others online as if nothing had happened at all i didn't hear a single teacher complain about the madness of kovid rather they were talking about their subject matter and asking students questions they were sharing their screens smiling and being enthusiastic i could hear students providing responses asking questions and joking around as if they were all sitting in the classroom together then i walked through the special education classrooms and the paraprofessionals and teachers were working directly with the students like they always had some were using computers and the students were logged in their classes while others were reading and working on projects i walked through student services on the way back to my office and the counselors were online or on the phone with students still guiding them and answering their questions the secretaries were still making appointments in contacting college recruiters in the main office the stack the secretaries were still doing their duties only wearing masks and the assistant principals were working with teachers they supervised talking about any adjustments they needed to make with their lessons and thoughts about the next topics for professional learning communities the following week as i returned to my office sat in my chair and looked at my computer i realized right there that we were going to be okay although almost all of our educational practices had to shift to a new format the liberty community made it work the fact that i was working with a devoted staff who focused on the best interests of all of you quickly changed my perspective and attitude toward this school year i knew i could not give up on them because they would not give up on you and guess what you didn't give up on them or yourselves which is why you're sitting here today i quickly just thank you i quickly dismissed the notion of retiring early and refocused my energy to help support the students families and staff who were weathering the same storm that i was in together we would not be defeated by covid or anything else donate us in the end we seize the day so speaking of seizing the day in your graduation envelopes that you will receive today is a card that i have been giving out to students since my first year of teaching this card was inspired by a ver by a version given to me by a bridal shop when i went to get a tuxedo for a wedding i was in for one of my best friends the card said seize the day and had a small statement that said don't waste today for it will forever be gone tomorrow i have since updated that card over the years to put a little more information in it but is still about seizing the day not focusing on previously wasted days and keeping your focus on today remember to learn from your history as you plan for the future but never forget to live in the present that is why they call the present a gift class of 2021 you are not done having difficult days and you are not done experiencing sadness disappointment and frustration however look what you have done today you have persevered through all of those negative emotions and are sitting here about to graduate from high school the struggle has been real my friends but you have fought through it and seized those days this is what happens when you do not quit i would like to finish my speech in the same manner that i have with the previous lancer nation graduating classes i want to share with you a quote from canadian hip-hop artist drake and i really believe it sums up the way we should all live our lives to the fullest please listen to these words carefully live without pretending love without depending listen without defending and speak without offending liberty high school class of 2021 we are all so proud of you for all of your accomplishments do great things in the world and remember that once a lancer always will answer mr lumberg i proudly certify the liberty high school graduates of 2021 and present them to you for your acceptance on behalf of the school board thank you and may peace be with you all on behalf of the board of education of academy district 20 i accept with pride and pleasure the graduating class of liberty high school 2021.
[Applause] scouts graduates you are officially dismissed [Applause] congratulations [Music] reasons [Music] is thank you cadets let's try to get your picture and head to the parking lot thank you liberty you
gregory became our chief financial officer in 2009 and served in that capacity into 2016 when he was named the deputy superintendent chief financial officer in these roles he identified areas where the budget could be reduced without scaling back staffing and school programming he also co-facilitated the growth and capital needs committee and pres and presentations to stakeholders that resulted in successful passage of a 230 million dollar bond measure in 2016. in 2005 gregory was named the executive director for business services during which time he led changes and revisions to many policies and practices including labor practices 403 plans full day kindergarten tuition based programs and facility rentals he was also the co-facilitator of the long-range capital facilities planning committee leading to recommendations for new school placement and construction existing school renovations technology upgrades and deferred maintenance mr gregory along with then cfo and superintendent was integral to the passage of a successful mill levy override tax issued in 2008.
thank you gage you did a terrific job i am pleased to introduce sarah conroy our student body president sarah has been a member of student council and the swim and dive team her favorite classes were ap psych ap lang and student council she is graduating today with distinction sarah has been working on earning her private pilot's license through springs aviation and is just a few short hours away from completion she will be attending cu boulder in the fall on a full air force rot scholarship she will be majoring in environmental engineering and then serving our country as an officer in the air force please welcome sarah can you keep your binder just in case actually that's okay thank you thank you miss back at this time i'm pleased to introduce mr thomas gregory superintendent of academy district 20. boynton born and raised in academy district 20 mr gregory has a passion for the educational process and thrives on helping others succeed mr gregory earned his master's degree in educational leadership and his principal licensure from the university of colorado at colorado springs he earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics and his secondary school teacher licensure from the university of southern colorado he was a classroom teacher for over 11 years teaching mathematics in both middle and high school mr gregory also coached football softball baseball and served as an athletic director and assistant principal for four years in our district he completed his 14th year as the leader for business operations in 2019 at which time he was appointed as the superintendent of academy district 20.
who do i have a function on this item do i have a motion on this item i want you to approve okay do i have a second do i have a second on this motion okay emotion has died on the floor do we have public comments i think he already procedurally that's not the way the procedure works um so we if the public has comments they could reach out we could put it on a future agenda but um just procedurally if we don't bring them to the phone for uh the moment and look at the [Music] um kelly we're taking a five minute recess because we're having some technical difficulties i got it i looked at dr lee and i thought you felt my foot hit the power strip knocked when the plug's out in cycle and then i saw some blocks coming outside went underneath the table to fix it immediately and i looked at it and i got everything up quickly to where where we didn't lose stuff i just couldn't when i saw your face doctor and i was like uh did he yeah i didn't i didn't know if he passed out and i was like thank you for your concerns back to order at 7 49 pm um moving on to business item d a g completion improvement grant plans do i have a motion on this item and do i have a second on the motion second okay um so bringing this item to the floor um last month the board had carousel oh sorry um so last month we shared this information the amg this is a new block grant uh my word blocker and it's being done by the state it's focused around abg improvement and so what we're seeking in this plan would be to utilize it to maintain our and increase our dual enrollment which allows students to not only get the credit for high school but also college credit and then additionally helping to fund and the additional counselor at center high school to keep working towards that so it's a good thing we'll put the money to good use and that means more students would be a g targeted to get higher ag rates which means more kids would be eligible to go to college if they so chose okay and do we have a couple of comments on this item okay any discussion okay i guess we'll do the vote then trustee kelly um could you repeat what the vote is uh votes to approve the uh are we on item b website no i poor item d a to g completion improvement correct plan ah yes sorry about that very good to me okay uh okay or anything i'll never do this again trust you lee hi trustee pope hi trustee anderson hi and chef so approved okay item e first reading board bylaw 9005.1 government standards signature and procedures do i have a motion on the side okay okay so we have uh a brief overview it was recently brought to our attention that we don't actually have a formal central policy so um i went searching for similar policies at other districts i found that there was a considerable variance between a five member board and a seven member board as far as procedure so i targeted my search to five member boards and um i found one and unfortunately i don't remember which district i got it from anymore um but i sent it to superintendent where that's where we are so before we begin discussion do we have any public comments on this oh and also i would just like to say to be abundantly clear this is not because i'm wanting to censor anybody this is because i am wanting to have this in place should that ever come up at some point in the future okay so discussion anybody i think it's a great idea it's a little overdue did we do a public comment first i just checked there were no public comments okay um i just with that i really like the way to read i like the fact that it talks about execution first before going and diving into what happens if you don't meet those expectations i just thought it was really well written and i'm happy with this thank you i wish i could take credit for that i'm just good with google okay any further discussion all right trustee kelly hi trustee lee i'm trustee pope hi trustee anderson hi i'm chairman we now have a central policy right so for clarity this is a first reading typically with the batches we do multiple readings because there's so many is this one the board is wanting to see back next time or are you good with the first reading says no changes were made typically if you made some changes i would recommend you bring it back but if you took it as is i think you're there perhaps we should clarify that was anybody wanting to do it just as a first reading of the second reason to happen later or trustee kelly is that okay with you i mean i i didn't hear what other people were saying but i see no reason either way if everyone wants to just go ahead and approve it fine but i think it does say first reading on the agenda so we should approve the first reading just to make sure that we're following procedures properly so to be clear um it is a first reading second reading um can be done but it is not mandatory so if we don't have any changes in the first reading so we can approve it on the first reading so then as well to actually make it into policy that's fine um i do have a question and i did read through this but now i'm not sure does it say that it has to be approved by the president to be placed on the agenda um okay uh first point of order make sure you use your microphone kelly can hear us um it's been a little bit since i've reviewed this but i think once it's those processes the the for president would not be able to to reject it i don't i don't believe it says anything about approval from the poor president and just as a matter of discussion of uh protocol my personal stance is if somebody wants it on the agenda we could love the agenda and that's any topic that was an awful lot of work for a lot of people it's constantly abused so um is there any way we could make it that two people wanted on the agenda well okay um with with censure there i did find policies for that would require two people to move forward but that was with uh seven member districts with a five member district that becomes you know a large percentage so right okay that's just my thoughts okay so um yes that was to make it into policy then so we do not need a second reading because we all continuously agree on that okay item f first reading policies and exhibits thank you um okay um trustee anderson already seconded so this is not to approve the policies it's to approve the reading correct okay just want to clarify that do we have any public comments on this issue okay um discussion trustee kelly yeah so i work the first one um ford policy 0420.42 charter school [Music] be renewed review did not have each other's during the two years that this is relevant so i say we just say this way completely it is irrelevant historically we kept them and if they dis if a charter was to petition us we have found that by having the policies it actually works in a district's favor so you have processes so we can look at this it does no harm to us it just has us if the case that we have it were petitioned and then a petition was approved um it doesn't mean that we're going to get a charter or we're not going to get a charter we have other policies within there that do talk about how we would accept the charge so a charter could be in existence petition us and then we would be able to judge based on the 1920 and or not judge based on the 1920 2021 fiscal year for the charter school regardless of whether they were in our district is that what you're saying i believe that might be one avenue of it the other piece would be is this policy these are changes just to the renewal there's other components to the to it so this would be one small component that these dates will probably go away but there's other elements to it that would be if we ever did get a charter how you renew so that would be one that will come back and will be updated after this at a later date okay that was my only comment i have a okay under um student records what is our procedure for if we have say a transgender student moving into the district for the purpose of starting anew protecting those records um enduring change and a sex change but how do we deal with that as a district is everything kept under an official key once the permanent record gets changed and updated there's no i mean that is the permanent record a lot of it's digital so i know we've had that before where it just you update the information if there's a name change or anything along those lines so they just delete the old essentially okay because the students have access to a lot of records like that they shouldn't they shouldn't excuse me other students should not have access to other issues no one should have access to that directory information on students other than employees who would have access so just to clarify this would be the same if a student for instance got adopted and changed their last name correct you would update you would update a system and then the system would be in there okay thank you okay any other discussion on this okay so this will be coming back to the second reading and we don't need to take a vote correct no you will though first reading oh or thank you okay so the voting to approve the first reading trustee kelly because this takes up a large part of the agenda okay boarding superintendent reports trustee kelly do you have a board report i believe you're muted um i don't really have a report i didn't say you know that i thought our workshop was extremely successful i thought we had a very effective development of the policy that we just proved and [Music] looking forward to graduation so that should be fun okay thank you very much trustee lee yes um happy asian american asian pacific american heritage month and jewish american heritage month i appreciate uplifting the many contributions that the asian pacific and jewish people have made to american culture and society often while facing great discrimination and exclusion i also just want to recognize that we remain in the grips of a global pandemic and covet has not left us recently president biden proclaimed over one million americans have lost their lives to this virus so far as covic cases are surging in sacramento and placer counties i encourage everyone to go to covicttest.gov copictest.gov to sign up for free tests to be delivered to your home i also encourage everyone to be kind and mindful of the ways that this menace continues to impact all of us and as we continue to navigate this crisis together today our board decided not to even bring to the floor for discussion a resolution on term limits for the people who attended my office hours who i brought that resolution forward i apologize i invite you to draw your own conclusions about this i want you to remind them i want to remind members of the public that three seats are up for election this year come november 8th and i encourage you to be inspired to participate by registering your candidacy the education of the children we serve in our district is paramount importance of our future as a community i want to thank our community members for your words of encouragement and support for my efforts to advance term limits for our board i have heard your desire for change and i hope i have represented your wish as well with that my next virtual open office hours are on monday june 6 from 4 to 5 pm and you can access the zoomlink on the board website any and all members of the community are welcome to drop in anytime during four to five first mondays and i look forward to connecting with you all in between that time be safe and be well thank you so um i do want to much or remind our community members that the district um does also provide testing for uh probing testing at each school site and the district office as well um may 2nd through the 6th with teachers appreciation week our parent groups provided goodies and lunch throughout the week for our teachers and our staff so thank you very much for that um i personally want to say thank you to everybody our staff our teachers um i personally appreciate everything you do and the time and the hard work that you dedicate to our students i would like to congratulate brett holmsley the deadly principal and also tate tracy siebert she is the vice principal of north country they both had baby girls earlier in the month um congratulations to julia jackson and to join oil who got married on may 2nd and also congratulations to all graduates and 8th grade promoting students and tomorrow if the board is willing to attend is mcclelland senior dinner will be independent that's my word i was lucky enough to be included or to join up with mrs class second grade class to go on a field trip to the nature center and it was wonderful that class was so well behaved and it was just a really good time and so i thank her for that purple court dinner was very very nice and well attended um i don't know if it's because it copied or why but it didn't seem to be as many um attendees there this year with the courts and graduates so we need that number back up somehow assembly member patrick o'donnell has authored assembly bill 2933 to provide full funding for transportation in school districts across the state according to csba they pay 30 percent cost investing these days and that's why most of school districts have cut out school busing so with this bill it would furnish we would raise the cost back up which hasn't been increased in 40 years and it would provide new buses and provide money for bus drivers as well so we can start a little email campaign or something on that use of greatly benefit artistry uh again he's patrick mcdonald assembly member assembly bill 2933 and as far as the turn limits that were mentioned and why it fell to the floor it fell to the floor because we've had two or three elections out of hoover which that nobody wanted to run for at all it costs about two thousand dollars just to sign up to run a business shape in the book that doesn't count all of the campaign material signs which often are destroyed all of the other stuff that goes along with it so we have a really hard time recruiting people in this area around your school board and that would just make it harder other than that we'll be at graduations i hope everyone attends those especially the high school graduation they deserve to have a full board there and i look forward to seeing all of you again soon okay with that my board report um first of all speaking of the purple core dinner um again i was really taken aback by just how supportive of each other and tight-knit the students were it was really neat to see they were gathering for a photograph and calling each other over to make sure that nobody got left out and honestly it made me really really proud to see that kind of behavior from the students um very similar and frankly it it makes me optimistic about the future of seeing this kind of thing because i don't think i was that sure at that age so uh yeah i was really impressed and the list of schools that some of these students got into was just amazing um the other thing i wanted to say is uh you know after my son ran track he had a tendency as embrace was nearing the end you know he he was not a track star by any stretch but he he'd start kind of just taking a little bit easy and i've reminded him hey you got to finish strong you got to finish strong he'd pick it up and finish the best he could and we're about a week away from the end of the school year everyone so to students staff teachers families everyone let's finish strong let's let's do this you know the end is in sight and uh as someone that has a graduating senior i am very excited about this as well um so yeah and then um just kind of a procedural thing i would again ask that we not get into uh board policy discussions during uh board reports it's not the place on the agenda for so with that i will turn it over to superintendent all right so since it's so nice and cool in here i've got about 35 minutes because i don't get that off but i'm actually warm richard thank you for making it last as long as you did i wanted to start first and i have copies for for each of the board members the family resource center and that is not their correct name now but it's student and family support services is putting on a back to school resource fair july 21st from 4 to 6.
okay okay and you'll pass on the comments that we made on the voluminous written material right i will indeed yes thank you thank you all for showing up i really appreciate it [Applause] okay now we're down to the nitty gritty and that's john carver and eric german so we're talking about our summer project updates yeah get that sound up [Laughter] okay before i start tonight i would like to clarify something i think it was last month i had bob on traverse here my transportation supervisor that said that every time he said john carver i gave him 10 bucks yeah yeah and i never got anything you said it once right yeah but i never got anything i emailed it to you okay so i'm going to say bob on traverse 15 times a night so that i'm even with bob oh i see okay okay actually what we'd like to give you tonight on your lead sheet it states that as a school district we need to spend three percent of our budget on routine restricted maintenance and we do that during the summer mostly for recarpeting classrooms new hvac units parking lot makeovers and on and on some of these a lot of them say to be determined on the payer pay to person we have a lot of contracts that we're waiting to get in and we don't have them all yet but if you'd like as soon as they all come in we will send you a new copy so you know who's doing the work okay okay and um so when we say in-house that means it's our guys doing it our folks correct okay so does anybody have any questions okay i remind the audience this is actually a mandate by the state that we spend this money except i want to say that there's nobody better at picking out the things that need to get fixed than these two guys and they they and their crews do a wonderful job thank you really wonderful so may i have a any other questions or issues i was curious how you prioritize projects so how do you determine that this is what we need to do this summer am i saying bob on traverse out there go ahead so a lot of these are determined by need as our maintenance workers are going around to the sites doing our daily work orders we discover things that are problematic on the school sites so we prioritize them by safety needs for kids number one so anything that poses a safety concern that's always going to be our top priority and then the structures of the buildings of course are always right up there too so if you look at a lot of these they're roofing projects we've got in-wall tables those are our safety concern as our tables are getting old and for those of you don't know what in-wall tables are if you look over these are in-wall tables where they're built into the walls and in fact we replaced these ones about four or five years ago in the original mpr and our facilities team was able to reuse them when they did the reconstruction here so these were repurposed but i know they've been really critical because we had a student injured by one that fell so very critical any other questions you can always get invited to come out and look at a project and process as long as you don't walk on the you know but the wet roofing yeah my favorite thing is hanging out with these guys because it's always usually almost always outside when i get to when i get to it yeah all right may i have a motion you need a motion yeah it says discussion action uh okay did we ask for public comment oh yeah is there any public public comment oh yeah i just have a question so i am i have a student at little chico creek because i'm seeing the projects and everything that are listed on here for a couple of years there's been playground equipment there's a structure that's like all taped off on the kindergarten playground and we've been waiting for it to be replaced like the ptso has raised money to put in a new playground structure so like in your prioritizing how do you determine like a kid has gotten injured by it before that's one of the reasons why they had to tape everything up so i'm just curious like how that falls into prioritizing projects that need to be done because we've been waiting for a couple years for that to be replaced so the playgrounds aren't listed on this list that we're replacing we're using esser funds to replace most of our a lot of our playgrounds lcc is one of those schools that will be getting playground replacement under the esser dollars so that's already uh being ordered so i i think timing was part of the question so this summer what uh it all depends on when the equipment arrives so right now it's really hard to predict when you're going to receive your materials our hopes is this summer but it all be determined on the shipping of the materials okay so this is not a full list of things that will be happening it's just the restricted dollars three percent that are going to be our summer projects other maintenance and updates and things like that that will be happening absolutely we'll solve our esther dollars we're going to be spending a lot of drinking fountain replacements um like i said playgrounds then we also have our daily jobs that we do all our work orders that we uh we do and those aren't included on there so this is just like you said the the three percent that we have to spend so we have very busy summers and just for clarification these are also new items coming forth so when eric was talking about the playground some of the bottom bottle filling stations those had already come to the border are come to the board i'm sorry um with the esser spending plan and so those have already been approved so these are above and beyond as new items all right so i'm i move approval of the submitted list and ask that after the to be determined amounts are known say a couple months from now that it just be provided i'll say it okay so we have a motion and a second any comments all right so our last board member is back um so just in time for our vote good for you okay so may i have a you can i well i guess we have to we have to have a voice but i mean not do we want to all right do you want to recap where we're at where are we on the agenda sorry we're there 9.2.1 the uh summer projects okay and we're we have a motion to approve them okay yep i read over this item on the agenda packet so okay i'm ready to vote on all right so are you ready for yes yes robinson i landed kaiserai tennessee all right okay gentlemen we're we'll be thrilled to see your finished work thank you and i want my 10 bucks okay uh we're moving to the chico unified school district and innovative preschool update yes good evening board um so here this evening in collaboration with diane olson to let the board know about where our status is with innovative preschool which is a private preschool located here on the marigold campus specifically next door at loma vista jacqueline can you just speak into your microphone a little bit more please yeah thank you pull it closer maybe that's better so i wanted to start this evening with why why did these conversations even start in the beginning so governor newsome signed ab-130 and what that did was that provided legislation um that all school districts had to provide universal transitional kindergarten for all four-year-olds beginning next school year so in 22-23 and the the age eligibility was bumped back two months um to february 1st and it will continue to be bumped back until full implementation in 2526 in which all four four-year-olds would be eligible to participate in our universal transitional kindergarten so you know this came out and i immediately when i went to ted and i was like oh my gosh this is basically a whole other grade level that we're having to put on our current facilities that are already pretty constrained and so that's really where the conversation started was wow we're going to have a really tight facilities and so what are our options how do we get these kids placed in our campus and so very broad range of of options there obviously construction but that doesn't help us for the 22-23 school year and so one of the ideas was well maybe we need to look at the private preschool that's located at loma vista and incorporate our state-funded preschools at our elementary sites and relocate them into loma to free up space at our elementary school so it's really about creating space or elementaries by moving those preschools over to loma vista so just to clarify our already existing preschools how many are there we currently have four so the the thought is to pull those four from their current cusd elementary sites to loma vista so centralized at loma vista will be all preschool correct you have a preschool complex if you will and then that would free up space or elementaries for our tk students to be able to attend those schools gotcha okay thank you so we started the conversation we've had five meetings with innovative uh we started those conversations back in february um just had our fifth one this last monday very productive meetings um trying to understand both sides of the coin for both parties and what that means because we do we do use innovative they are integral to our inclusion program that diane's going to speak to and so they do service chico unified preschool students with ieps okay so inclusion cheek unified has been going on for many years so i want to talk a little bit about innovative inclusionary options and then what we're already doing in chicago unified um the district has implemented inclusion programs for at least since 1998 when i taught in one here at marigold we had a second and two second grade classrooms and a special ed teacher and it was 40 students 45 students all blended together doing the co-teaching model very similar to what loma vista and and innovative does so we right now have inclusion programs that have grown from that and innovative was around at that time too and through the district we have it at the high school we have co-teaching inclusion at all the junior highs and then at parkview is another one that has these inclusion type programs so this is something that cheats unified even before me has known how to do very well for a very long time so we now are looking at expanding that through grants that we have a teacher that teaches inclusion within state preschool within head start within innovative and then we can expand that out to the community with those grants so those that is going on right now throughout right now innovative has 24 spots that our special education students with moderate to severe needs are included in those 24 spots are three-hour spots during three different times of the day so they can go either there's two classes at 8 45 to 11 45 that go so those are two classes that's 16 of our special needs students and then there's another one that goes from 11 45 to 245 that's another eight so they they have 24 of our special education students included in their programs and in those programs they have seven staff on average in the classroom from innovative our staff is also in those classrooms we have six special education para professionals and two chica unified teachers that go in with students at that same time so this is very much so a program that uses resources staffing from both sides from chico unified and from innovative the loma vista program also loma vista and innovative have speech ot services ap services so it is the full gamut and range of services that can be done in that and so that was my part just to kind of describe a little bit of what we do with innovative and loma vista program here at marigold when you when we are using the word inclusion can you just give a definition of what we mean so that and does that mean the same thing for each of these programs does inclusion at cusd have the same definition as inclusion at head start or innovative or the state funded preschools inclusion in the simplest words is that ability to have students with disabilities included in general education classrooms that that's the definition however inclusion looks different for every student based on what they need some students through our inclusion specialists are in general ed all day long and these are students with moderate disabilities and we have an inclusion specialist that goes around to all the schools and teaches us the general ed teachers how to accommodate those students in the classroom we have inclusion continuum that includes co-teaching where our co-teaching is paired with the teacher at the elementary level it's for an hour a day it's not all day long it's for an hour and they co-teach maybe a reading or math same time every day in that class parkview is a good example that innovative is a good example that we also have a tk program that does that currently next you're expanding that to two we also have just push in where students mild moderate rsp yes the one you're very familiar with where they go into the general classroom they're in there they might only have one pull out classroom but all the rest of the time is in with general education with accommodations modification and with sharing iep information with the general ed teachers so they know how to support them and the case managers manage that um is there is there any particular methodology that's shown to be more effective among what you just shared with us for example is co-teaching possibly the most effective or do they each have their strengths in in application just depending on you know the structure of the the school setting it really depends on the students like you guys met bella our student that was using eye gaze just co-teaching alone for her does not work because she needs someone there with her also to interpret to make sure she's able to communicate using the eye gaze and participate so she has more than inclusion some of our students that just need that teaching of our general ed teachers and how to accommodate from our inclusion specialist that's all they need and so this kind of looks at that i'm going to kind of change over to multi-tiered systems of sports we have identified all those supports in special education we look at each and every single child and say what level of support do they need to be successful so there's not one that's any better do you think that there's an adequate amount or are we still in the exploratory phase i mean we had this big discussion about cotija in classrooms and i know that we don't do enough of that for example so i mean do we have a general idea of the number of students who have who would thrive in a particular model and and set goals to to move our district towards meeting that ratio for example does that make sense right the amount of amount of need bases what we have right now the need is greater than what we have right now however co-teaching is a very complicated system you have to have people that can want to and can work together the worst thing you can do for co-teaching is put two people together that do not want to work together in that same subject matter so the first thing is continuing to teach and ask people to become involved in the co-teaching the other challenges and i hate going to this anytime at all but the cost of co-teaching is more and so we are have limited resources so we have to be very targeted about where and how we do co-teaching that's why we use inclusion specialists because i can have a little bit of co-teaching at every school my question is i noticed that the certificates and the experiential base is ramping up quite a bit for the tk's uh with the state laws so um do we have enough people now who meet those standards or we're going to have to really ramp that part up too so the ctc has given time i think it's a year one more year to be able to access those credentials and chica unified is supporting teachers that want to add on that credential by helping pay for those credentials am i saying that right okay for clarification what is that uh certification that is needed for the tk level it's 12 ecue units early childhood education units it is easy okay and they can get those units at butte college and at chico state and it's just a certain number of units in ec they need yeah okay thank you matt all right since i had the floor anyhow can i shift gears for a second here is that okay sorry what did your question get answered can i yeah shift gears okay thanks um because earlier it seemed like and i'm focused just on innovative because that's what's you know on the agenda um inclusion i think is still a bigger topic we need to have a discussion about at some point it sounded like your claim was basically we already do what innovative is doing and i hear that um are there substantive differences between the inclusion programs we offer at the tk and k level uh that are differentiated from how innovative does things is to the best of your knowledge so the tk inclusion is taught by this year taught by a special education teacher that has both general ed and special ed students and she's credentialed to do both so this year that was slightly different because there wasn't two teachers going in although she had additional staff that supported it because of special education next year we are going to exact same model in the tk we're already doing it at parkview so that model was already there which is k to third third and so there it already existed next year we'll have two tk's with general ed special ed two general ed teachers and one special ed teacher that would be co-teaching with both of them and also co-teaching with the access classroom so it is and then i'll also answer a question you didn't ask is state preschool and head start does that look the same because ultimately that's going to be the question it can look the same right now because it wasn't set up that way our inclusion is more like the inclusion specialist model we have a preschool specialist go around to all the preschools they have students that have what's called specialized academic instruction needs and he meets with each of those owners and or people that run the businesses because it is some private preschools also and he gives them lessons he meets with the kids he meets with the staff and makes sure that students are getting that specialized academic instruction they need because early in event intervention is really key to helping these students progress on and possibly exit ieps as you know i have a clarification question this might be my ignorance but it's innovative preschool only or preschool antique because i think that there is some gray area when we say tk and when we say preschool because some people consider tk still preschool right so you have three basic programs that are before school age you have the infant program that is for students with disabilities that are identified at birth those are usually pre-significant students that's age zero to two those students transition to preschool which in the special ed world that is simply stage three to five four preschools they can serve students based on the license from three to five two to four they it's very specific licensing of how they serve those students at those different ages and then the numbers and the staff ratios change with the age right now innovative is serving three to five year olds and at our preschools currently the ones that are at those four school sites those those also serve students with ieps yes okay they tend to be more mild moderate but they do have moderate on the moderate side of moderate severe also and is it are there varying degrees of inclusion or or co-teaching they're fully included all day but they don't have co-teaching okay all right uh any other questions now just thank you for the work you guys are doing to you know to get this to work it's been a tremendous program and we're learning from uh from innovative and from the work we've already begun so thank you everyone and i just want to add at the end here that um information for the board that we're having these conversations to deal with the tk constraint and then next month at the june board meeting the universal tk implementation plan will be brought forth to the board so an expectation of that next month all right good thank you okay uh with that we move on to 931 tentative agreement with cuta on the loma vista one is there any public comment on that all right you have to come up to the mic just for clarification so innovative have they chosen a site to move to or are they being completely removed off of the mirgo loma vista campus because i think that was like a discussion that was like kind of going on as well neither yeah chica unifies let them know that they have full program for 22-23 i think my understanding is their board is having some discussions about what their program looks like for next year so that would be a question for their board chico unified can't speak to that they are their own entity but their own board um so how they want to structure their program for next year would be their decision but they have the agreement to rent the space so it's kind of it is in place for 22 20.
he worked extremely hard to build his business scattered over five cities and two states customers drove miles to have a froggy's hamburger and a beer for a grand total of 15 cents essentially at that time he did hamburgers better than any competitor of the day so flash forward few years one summer when i was home from college my mother and i visited my excuse me my uncle mike and my aunts in their home in canyon city as i was sitting with my uncle in a small living room of the house he built we began discussing his life experiences and my future when with uncle mike i felt tremendous pressure to answer his questions in such a way that he could and would be proud of me and maybe i might even impress him i wanted to tell i wanted him to tell me that i was going down the right path i was making the right decisions and that i was going to be successful he asked me what my college course of study was i proudly and confidently told him i was either going to be a mechanical engineer or i was going to major in mathematics i felt pretty good about my answer i felt my course of study would impress him or at least gather his admiration however his response was not at all what i expected he offered neither admiration nor approval instead he said young man that's fine but that's not really what's going to be important let me tell you something he said in his stern not apologetic way it doesn't really matter what course of study you choose or in fact it doesn't even matter if you finish your course of studies what is most important is that whatever you choose to do in life you do it better than anyone else does it it doesn't matter if you go into medicine construction law trash collection or the restaurant business whatever it is you must do it better than anyone else does it you can be a ditch digger he said if you dig ditches better than anyone else digs ditches you will be successful this was not what i expected to hear from him but to this day it stands as the most accurate important and impactful piece of advice i've ever received i've tried to live my life as he advised and i've seen his wisdom play out over and over again in the lives of friends relatives co-workers and colleagues my uncle mike passed in 2003 at the age of 90 but our conversation that day years ago and the wisdom he shared has since lived with me i've shared my advice with my own i've shared his advice with my own children and today i share it with you two degrees a life of learning and 32 years of a career later and still the most important and impactful learning of my life i received sitting on the plastic covered sofa in my uncle mike's living room so my advice to you today as you leave high school and enter college trade school the military the workforce or whatever comes your way is from my uncle mike success is not determined by what you do it's going to be determined by how well you do it whatever it is you do do it better than anyone else does it and success will follow these words were true at the turn of the 19th century they were true at the turn of the 20th century and they will continue to be true throughout the 21st century congratulations discovery canyon campus high school class of 2022 i wish you all a hopeful fulfilling and successful future be well and be safe thank you very much [Applause] thank you mr gregory congratulations class of 2022 you made it your accomplishments and academics activities leadership the arts and athletics are too numerous to count on behalf of the staff at discovery canyon campus congratulations and job well done you the class of 2022 successfully navigated the pandemic you were resilient patient understanding and strong you were hashtag stronger together over the past four years you have learned many lessons both academic and life lessons your teachers mentors coaches directors and staff at discovery canyon campus have helped guide you and direct you i have the honor for the next few minutes to share with you some final thoughts and i'm truly humbled to have the opportunity to be part of closing one chapter of your life and help in turning the page to the next chapter in your life so only two things tonight and anna already mentioned one lean on your strengths as you enter the next chapter of your life whether it's school work or in relationships use your strengths to achieve greatness in your relationships with others be it personal professional remember to focus on other strengths and build them up and inspire greatness in them ultimately remember this famous question from dr clifton a pioneer in the field of positive psychology and creator of the strength finder inventory dr clifton asked a question worth pondering and applying to your life he asked quote what will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than fixating on what is wrong with them second you've all heard this from me before at various class meetings country music star tim mcgraw performed a great song called humble and kind the lyrics provide great guidance on the importance of being humble and kind as part of being successful in life learning work and relationships hold the door say please say thank you don't steal don't cheat and don't lie i know you got mountains to climb but always stay humble and kind when those dreams your dreaming come to you when the work you put in is realized let yourself feel the pride but always stay humble and kind when it's hot eat a root beer popsicle shut off the ac and roll the windows down let that summer sun shine always stay humble and kind don't take for granted the love this life gives you when you get where you're going don't forget turn back around and help the next one in line always stay humble and kind congratulations class of 2022 and as always go thunder graduates would you please stand [Applause] [Music] as our board of education representative mr tom levalley will be receiving the 2020 graduates mr lavallee it is with great pride that i present to you the members of the discovery canyon campus high school class of 2022 i hereby certify that these students present today have met or exceeded the academy school district 20 graduation requirements i recommend that each of the students present here today receive their high school diploma [Applause] on behalf of the board of education of academy district 20 i accept with pride and pleasure the 2022 graduating class of discovery canyon high school dr wahlstrom thank you and your staff for an outstanding job congratulations [Applause] graduates you may be seated as we begin our presentation of diplomas this evening please be thoughtful regarding the formality of this important event and be conscientious of those around you and refrain from using noisemakers or making loud noises as our students names are being read please welcome to the stage our heralds for this evening mr sam melendrez [Applause] and mr wayne weatherby [Applause] students on the stage if you would please proceed to the stairs to begin our recognition of graduates of the class of 2022 board of education and district leadership would you please take your places with the first row of graduates please rise and approach the stage to receive your diploma two of them that's right i'm not sure who's going first okay anya lee gutormsen brinley marilyn aiken [Applause] [Music] andrew thomas keegan brooke amanda aldrich [Music] [Applause] gail sukel joshua robert alexander grayson charles yoakam brady travis anderson sahil sanjay bhandari [Music] ella sarah anderson [Applause] jillian minwa bowles rebecca lauren anderson mary frances cowan [Applause] presley mckenna arnold shreya prashant krishnan [Music] jordan elaine astor shalani aprova kudenor jason patrick abane [Applause] zachary j miller varsha ramesh dashida sharma mina audrey songloo nathaniel david zane trice [Applause] jordan amanda wilcoxson [Applause] caitlin rose barry kaden ballard sarah elizabeth barry ava grace marie ball trip [Music] my ore bat [Applause] charlotte grace barnett jeremy rashaan vince william marshall barrows [Applause] john jeffrey blandford dylan michael battig aiden william dean blasic sailor [Applause] mckinsey nevaeh beamer shockley ryden gary blue [Applause] [Music] [Applause] bethany may bondser connor riley bergmeyer millie grace bram schreiber [Applause] heather rose burns catherine noel carlos [Applause] joshua franklin braun rihanna lynnae carlson samuel james brewster sadie michelle chambers zachary nicholas brown samuel josiah clapp abigail rose brownell gabriella magdalena clark [Applause] cooper cade brush [Music] rachel rose clawson [Applause] macy and budge savannah catherine claussen [Applause] andrea rose burton [Applause] phelan leah cleary janelle rachel marie kakal [Applause] alexandra lay clinger [Music] evelyn matea campbell [Applause] callan daniel crawford gianna quay cole [Applause] abigail elaine crossley zoe vi collins trevor james kolros desiree diolinda colombo garcia [Applause] riley vincent cummings [Music] [Applause] colin dean caldwell sierra michelle current [Applause] santi gabriela concepcion chloe don courier troy david conigliero nave rose diabueno elisha renee connor marissie marissa lindsay deal aidan escher wyatt thomas dear damien joseph cordova [Music] luis diaz [Applause] kyra corkel colin edward eisenhock jeshua frederick de moya kylie and ellsworth [Applause] ryan thomas porshan kula donahue naomi rebecca falk [Applause] georgia grace duffy matthew david fellows [Applause] abby abby elizabeth dunkley morgan sophia pharaoh christopher william eastley jack andrew field [Music] catherine ava easter [Applause] charlie scott fish cameron gene eddy sarah elizabeth fogel [Applause] delaney mary edwards [Applause] ryan andrew fournier [Music] trinity lynn edwards [Applause] cadence grace grimm tatiana alexia gagne isabella nicole grieve [Applause] zachary tyler gagan [Applause] vincent santino guarello brianna rose gertzma [Applause] sienna faith contormson [Music] ethan lewis gibbs carrie elizabeth hafer kobe clark gilman devin leanne [Applause] emily sarah gennady dominic vincent hargrove cassidy jade godwin [Applause] aurora elizabeth bell harmon [Music] ethan jones gonzalez parka parker joshua holly blake werner greene nicholas william howerth grayson brook heilman ethan jared homich [Applause] adrian hernandez evan timothy posey madeline rose hers grant robert hubbell brinley mckay herzberner [Music] maximus ryan hughes lilia remy hittle charles robert hund [Applause] kaylee elizabeth hodan alexandra k hunt michael christian horoff jaylene page engram ellie lillian hoffman [Music] seth alyn nolan anderson huffle carter aaron johnson [Applause] jonah michael johnson jacob scott claussen adrian luis jones elizabeth gene canope [Music] sicily rayvon janelle [Applause] brett adam knox silas raymond janelle [Applause] [Music] raymond john kellerman [Applause] milan joanne kosusek jaden lee kimmerling dylan miles krazan [Music] sarah michelle krueger [Applause] khan ella marie kinsley [Applause] jocelyn joanne levant tyler douglas cavalli [Applause] samantha nikal the board claire elizabeth leupold schuyler jade la fibre [Music] gary jonathan lewis [Applause] joel jane langford grace and lichtenberger [Applause] [Music] logan william laramie [Music] emma catherine lindsey [Music] [Applause] francesca marie lawson grace danielle long luke james leahy [Applause] lindsey marie loof [Applause] logan alexander legrone reese paige laurie ty joshua leonard [Applause] [Music] jordan lou [Music] alexandro nash luna benavidez [Applause] gavin samuel lucero noah adam lester [Music] evan michael mccomb [Applause] nathan michael mayhon [Applause] kyle delton mcdonough [Music] [Applause] nicholas jacob marburger [Music] [Applause] molly rose mcduff alexis michelle marcusveld braden kaipo nioha maguire william harris marshall catherine jean mcnabb sarah and marie macias [Applause] hannah wesley meeks [Applause] nicole elise mccloskey [Applause] hayes mears joshua david mcclure [Applause] aina meeks [Applause] gavin andrew montoya cole braden mitchell [Music] hope isabel montoya [Applause] reagan paige mandelo logan powell moore alexis michelle nelson noah david chad morheim [Applause] abigail catherine louise newell [Applause] sienna joanne morrill [Applause] eden elizabeth nolan alexey alekovich buchen [Applause] braden christopher o'hara daniel jadick munn asher william olsen [Music] nicholas michael antavarios [Applause] peterson [Applause] trent christopher pass vogel ariana michelle perez alcover caleb scott pasqual [Applause] justin alexander pruitt catherine quinn patterson anthony reid raftis [Applause] bryce martell roberson benjamin brooks ransom alexandra grace roberts abigail raymond [Applause] veronica nicole rivera [Applause] jonathan walter rader [Music] tessa elizabeth violet rocha cody ray santa cruz [Music] zachary bryce rogers [Applause] dominique richard [Applause] eric yao rodriguez logan james writings kenji rowley [Applause] haley k ross [Applause] alvaro hernandez rimaldi [Applause] alexandra nicole rutherford [Applause] michael rubin romero [Applause] ryan anderson ritalin [Applause] brian william rose [Applause] valeria ochoa [Applause] india marie scott [Music] madeline rochelle sack [Applause] [Music] mason anthony scriber andrew lee sellsgiver [Music] abigail rose seidenberg [Applause] victoria rose sanders [Applause] luke michael sang [Music] megan janine schimel [Applause] tyler james sevast alyssa chandler schmidt [Applause] catherine alyssa seaver damien vincent sickles [Music] hope joying shay [Applause] ethan michael smith [Applause] sanika ceresh shinde jeffrey maxwell smith [Applause] chase charles chunk [Applause] oliver j schmuck [Applause] ryan james stork katarina grace smith [Music] alana rosa marie suber naomi lee starr [Applause] hunter owen swearingen tyranny nalu stephanie benjamin gregory tabor ian whaley stewart emma claire tall man devin sloan stoller [Applause] justin eric taylor sean mitchell tressamer [Applause] charlie and telcik [Music] zakiyah leoness underwood riley scott titchener [Applause] isabella angeline valenti [Applause] evan michael tochi grant richard vorwaller [Applause] michael francis trinkler [Applause] riley shea walter [Applause] serena rose wells [Applause] hayley ellison werner [Music] kylie davin west [Applause] maya shea weaver [Applause] mason alexander wisman [Applause] ellie ray grace wayne [Applause] brienne paige white benjamin miles wilmer [Applause] [Music] cameron lee whittle elise avery witherow [Applause] [Music] ethan joel wilcox [Applause] andrew franklin wong [Applause] jacob robert willard adam joseph wood [Applause] leah susanna willette [Applause] kalyn nicole woods [Applause] chloe grace wright [Applause] jacob samuel lopez [Applause] peter abram young [Applause] derek peter zoldai hello idea one student could not be in attendance this evening as a last minute change let's give it up for graduate suhani sharma congratulations suhani [Applause] all right thunder we're almost there it's it's time for a very special part of the ceremony i'd like to invite to the podium discovery canyon student body president anna sukel to lead you in the turning of the tassel class of 2022 please rise [Applause] our high school experience has been unlike any other however today we finish off our year with a timeless tradition the graduation ceremony is full of symbolism and metaphor the hoods gowns and caps all represent traditions of generations past there is one final metaphor to fulfill that of the turning of the tassel today as we leave discovery canyon campus as students we become alumni of our school today we move our tassel from the right to the left acknowledging that while we will always be a part of the thunder our role has changed today we are graduates please join me in moving your tassel to the left [Applause] congratulations class of 2022.
meredith amrine i would like to thank all the teachers that i have ever had a class with you all welcomed me with open arms when i came to the village mr joel and mrs colgate thank you both for teaching me my favorite subject calculus you both kept a smile on me on when i asked several questions thank you dlg for always listening to my stories about taekwondo my crazy spanish dreams and always encouraging me to pursue spanish thank you i know my mom is crying by now but i am not done mom and dad thank you for bringing me back to reality by freaking out about my grades which i have under control to the tech dude who told me about the pcs that he built for him and his wife to cvr who taught me physics and to master coughlin who encourages me to be an engineer thank you all in the fall i will be attending colorado school of mines i will be going for a major in electrical engineering and a minor in computer science i will be a smart cookie [Music] nicholas baba without the village high school wouldn't have been the same the teachers helped guide me to finish high school and chase my dreams i'd like to thank my family for helping me through school and teaching me to be the man i am today i truly don't know what i do without you mom and dad i'd also like to thank the friends and teammates that i've made throughout the four years of high school for making it not so awful thank you for this experience i wouldn't want it any other way natalie vance [Music] i want to thank my mom for helping me through hard times she motivated me to keep going and for that i am grateful i want to thank mike my stepdad for helping me have critical thinking he often would not give me the answer but would have me think about the problem in a different way and that has helped me grow as a person i also want to thank mr norris for nurturing my interest in law and god for guiding my path and showing me where i need to go in life i am going to regen university in virginia beach where i will major in constitutional law [Music] daniel barbotko i would like to thank everyone at the village for the incredible four years i've had at all three campuses that we've been through a special thanks to nash norris for being my mentor for all four of these years as well and going through the ups and downs with things inside and outside of school mr norris was a huge figure in getting me to where i am today starting with all the motorcycle talk and getting me into my first projects with motor vehicles i have only norris to thank for getting me to rebuild six cars in last year sorry about that parents along with three motorcycles and dirt bikes i've enjoyed every class i've had with each teacher it has been fun motivating and allowed me to get much farther than the base requirements i originally planned for it's amazing how fast four years fly by when you're enjoying each week my future plans are attending uccs and getting a master's in electrical engineering and minoring in computer science i hope to be a lead developer in scada supervisory control and data acquisition and begin merging ai automation with data analysis as well as optimizing production in the economy ella bernard barnard sorry first i would like to thank my parents for supporting me throughout my education from driving me to extracurricular activities and buying me school supplies i am forever grateful for your support you never push me past my limits but instead encourage me to be the best person and student i can be you helped me with homework and took me on late night projects shopping while doing the same for four other children and while i'm sure it's frustrating helping me solve endless math problems and dragging me out the door in the mornings because i will was always late you did it anyway and that means the world to me i would also like to thank my family and friends for attending my activities from choir to tennis matches and for showing me continuous support i love you all and i'm forever grateful for everything you have done for me after high school i will be attending csu fort collins in their undecided program trent thistle [Applause] i would like to thank miss kimmy my parents my brother and sister my girlfriend and all the teachers who helped and pushed me to be the best i could be my future plans are to continue my education in fire science and eventually become a career firefighter sarah burden i am beyond grateful for all of my teachers at village high school and its entire staff particularly i can't express how much i appreciate miss kimmy's help and support throughout my entire time at this school she's been there for me every step of the way and i have to admit i may have made that a bit challenging at times i couldn't have wished for a better school counselor she's simply the best i also want to thank my parents for always believing and trusting in me now that i've graduated i plan on taking a gap year to further pursue my goals as a figure skater i'm planning on attending cu boulder the following year and i want to major in psychology [Applause] isabella suspectus there have been so many great experiences and people who have helped me achieve this goal of graduation mrs stacy for welcoming me into the village and practically holding my hand throughout my time here i want to thank my family for supporting me and driving me up the wall one big part of my life was the cheyenne mountain zoo teen program and the people and lifelong friends i have made while participating my mentors austin and russell thank you for guiding and supporting me my best friends amanda luke and blakely for always making me laugh and love life my passion for animals and the environment will continue as i go off to college to study wildlife and conservation biology nathan clark dear teachers and staff of the village i want to thank you all for your support through these last few years we've had some great times and i'll certainly never forget them while i'm happy to be starting a new chapter of my life i'll miss the village and the fun we had soon i'll be leaving for montana state in bozeman there are many things i'd like to try there and i have no doubt that i'll have fun while doing so kaylee cornaldi i want to thank the teachers at the village for investing so much love time and effort into all of our futures i've never associated school with an enjoyable environment until i started to attend the village my sophomore year all the teachers were so kind and treated me like family this school showed me that school can be fun and enjoyable when you are surrounded by genuine teachers who appreciate different teaching techniques and strategies that support every individual student i'm so excited to transition into college and pursue a career that i love and impac and am passionate about it is so important to pursue your dreams because life is too short to not pursue the things that make you happy thank you jonah crawford i would like to start by thanking my incredible parents as they are two of my most valuable friends and mentors i can honestly say that i feel as if i won the family lottery god has blessed me with better parents siblings grandparents and relatives than i could ever ask for i also want to thank my friends teammates coaches and teachers for always pushing me to improve i wouldn't be the person i am today without you all i have always enjoyed learning how things work taking them apart fixing and improving them with this in mind i have decided to continue my education at uccs studying mechanical engineering connor dant i would like to thank all my family and friends that have been with me during these last four years i also want to thank my mentors miss sherry and mr savage as well as the rest of the faculty for providing us with their guidance and wisdom i will take a gap year to save up money and discover more options and opportunities cadence dakota i really want to thank my mom especially for getting me through high school she's always stood by my side and pushed me to keep going even at my lowest i also want to thank my close friends and family for supporting me and my decisions and never leaving my side i've always been interested in cosmetics and facial reconstruction i plan to get my rn for plastic surgery purposes and my cosmetology license sebron denson my school my school journey was filled with ups and downs they were bad grades the arguments even late nights but at the end of the day i had people that would help me get back on track i would just like to thank my parents for being the ones by my side during this journey and helping me through it i appreciate all the things you did for me if i was struggling not only in school but also in life so thank you for everything you guys did to help me over the years in my in the future i will be taking a gap year from school and getting a job to learn how the real world works and maybe taking some college courses samantha durray dear mom and dad thank you so much for standing by me during my four years of high school i know it wasn't easy but hey now it's over so relax oh wait there are four more years of college seriously i appreciate your support emotionally academically and financially i would never have made it through without you i'll be attending goucher college in maryland on an equestrian performance and merit scholarship i am planning on studying pre-med pre-health with hopes of continuing on for my physician's assistant master's degree jd duvall i had a lot of people who believed in me to graduate a year early thanks to my parents and teachers for supporting me in this rough journey but now i'm able to say i graduated even though i had a lot of people who believed in me i did have some people tell me that i couldn't do it as well and that was another reason to graduate to show them that i can i thought about giving up at times but remembered i have a lot of support and i kept pushing forward i'm glad i did my plans for the future are to attend college at lamar community college and double major in horse training and equine business management so i have my own horse facility to train horses and show other people how amazing horses are too tess ekblad the village has been one of the greatest opportunities for me and i am so grateful to have been part of this unique community i want to thank all the staff at the village i have had the pleasure of knowing over these four years for supporting my academic development and growth of character i want to thank my parents for providing their endless encouragement to achieve my ambitions i will be attending cu boulder this fall as a physics major i intend to apply for graduate education afterwards and pursue a career in astrodynamics and aerospace development carolyn finley i would like to thank all of my parents for being the best support system i could ask for for believing me and loving me even when i lost my way i want to thank miss kimmy for always providing me with a safe space and guiding me on my path to graduation i would also like to thank miss sherry for being an amazing teacher and mentor for always making me feel loved and wanted at school after this i plan to get my construction and electrical qualifications i would love love to travel the world live in different countries and help different communities as much as i can when i settle down i want to open a foundation for women who are survivors of domestic abuse and women who have had bad living situations this program would teach women trades so they can become financially independent and be able to support themselves and their families grace jerry i am so thankful to be able to stand here today and thank those who have been such an encouragement to me i would first like to thank my loving parents who have devoted themselves to watching me succeed since day one they have inspired me to transcend not only academically but also in my relationships with others and my walk with god they have been my rock and my source of all guidance and wisdom i would also like to thank all of my teachers who have walked with me every step of the way moving my senior year of high school has presented itself some with some challenges but the teachers here at the village have been beyond welcoming and i'm so grateful for the support system they have not only provided me but all of their students graduation is one of the most important milestones in a person's life and i can say confidently that i would not be who i am today without them thank you after graduation i plan to attend the university of colorado colorado springs and receive my bachelor's degree in health care sciences my goal is to become an obstetric sonographer jackson gilbert i would like to thank my family they have helped me get very far without their supporter i would not be where i am today thank you so much my future plans are to attend college at either boulder or st olaf chris gracia after two after two years at pine creek i know i needed a change i was introduced to the village and all the amazing teachers that have helped me finish high school and chase my dreams i'm so thankful for everyone that i've met at the village and will always remember all the friendships i created i also want to thank my teammates and friends for creating memories that i'll never forget finally i would like to thank my parents for always supporting and pushing me to achieve my dreams future plans will be playing baseball at northeast community college thank you for walking me through the beginning of this school year as this was my first year here it was helpful i will probably attend college brianna goodry there are so many important people in my life that i that have helped me get to this point that i am so grateful for mom and dad i love you so much and i want to thank you for all of your love guidance and support these past 13 years i couldn't have done this without you my two older sisters and boss ladies kayla and amaya both of you have been such inspiration to me and i want to be just like you two when i'm older and of course i can't forget to thank my twin sister and partner in crime to leah we've been through literally everything together and you truly have been one of my biggest supporters and closest friends i also want to thank the rest of my friends and family and also the wonderful teachers and staff at the village i truly have felt cared for by every single one of you last but definitely not least i would like to thank my wonderful teacher and mentor ms nolan i couldn't have asked for a better teacher to help me through the last years of school so thank you as for my future plans i would love to continue working with animals and i planned on getting my associates in veterinary technology i will also be following in my dad and older sisters footsteps by doing full-time bubble bible teaching work to leah goodry i want to first thank you mom and dad for being the support that held me up as i learned to crawl then walk through life i wouldn't be where i am today if it weren't for you thank you kayla amaya and brianna for showing me a life full of laughter and love i am so proud to have gone through this journey with all of you i love you and thank you to all of the rest of my family and friends you have truly enriched my life with so many treasured memories and loving support and lastly thank you ms nolan for being more than just a teacher but a mentor and friend that i will cherish for years to come i may be getting a diploma but you all deserve the award for being the best family a kid could ever hope for thank you for my future plans i would like to go to school to get certified as a veterinarian technician i will also be joining my dad and two sisters in full-time bible teaching work alyssa gunter [Music] high school couldn't have gone by any faster so many ups and downs and changes the village was the school i needed not only did i pass every class with ease i also was given so many opportunities that i thought at some point i would never be given i met some amazing teachers and people here i will never forget and always be thankful for this school i would like to thank my amazing family my parents being there through good and bad my sister is there to make me laugh even in the hardest of times high school was a wild ride and i am overall very thankful and happy with the road i have taken i plan on pursuing my dream of becoming an interior and graphic designer i hope to enjoy and flourish at this and be happy in my many years to come ali hagfeld everyone at the village has helped me academically and emotionally i want to thank miss sherry for always reaching out a hand when i needed it most and for always encouraging me to reach my full potential i'd also like to thank both mrs flanagan and mrs redinger for always welcoming me with a warm smile and a hug both of my parents have been a tremendous help in my academic career encouraging me to follow my dreams and being there to help me overcome hurdles and trials it has been a wonderful four years at the village and it's incredibly hard to say goodbye but i know that i will never forget my high school career and will always remember my teachers throughout my senior year i've been taking college classes to get my certification to become an emergency medical technician by early june i'll be officially certified and ready to be out there saving lives my plans are to go up to cedar city utah at southern utah university and work as an emt part-time while studying there i plan to take pre-med classes and earn my bachelor's degree in either biology or chemistry after i graduate from suu i'll then move on to medical school to get my phd in either neurology or rheumatology it honestly depends on what will interest me most when i get to that point at this time i'm leaning more toward rheumatology and my goal is to become a pediatric rheumatologist it's been a lifelong dream to dedicate my career to helping others achieve a healthy life tristan hanson honestly there are far too many people to thank in my life if i'm to keep this brief so i shall be noting those with the most influence of my life as of late so i'd like to thank my parents carrie and jason hansen for providing excellent support over the years helping me stay motivated with my school finding my interests in life and providing the means to explore said interests and most importantly helping shape who i am as a person from my cool headed and knowledgeable disposition to my everlasting need to help others and be early to any event i go to much to the lamentation of those driving me around i'd also like to thank my sisters janae and mercedes-hansen who have strived to help improve my lackluster social skills and my drive to take care of myself much to my annoyance at times finally i'd like to thank my friends who have provided a listening ear and near constant amusement and companionship i should give an honorable mention to the teachers i've had over the years from mr smiley and mr colgate who helped me get outside every now and then to mr harms and mr thomas who entrenched my love of history and finally sherry deinline who has been a near constant source of motivation kindness and the odd word of wisdom over the course of my school education i'm going to immediately get into the workforce so i can earn money while i figure out what i truly want to do with life that was awesome isabelle harris i will never be able to fully express the love and gratitude that i have for my family both at home and at school thank you mom and dad for not only allowing me to chase my dreams but for encouraging me and actively pursuing each dream alongside me i'm so grateful to my parents but especially my mom for spending the better part of the last two years chauffeuring me around between home and school and dance thank you miss lindsey for being next to me through everything from talking through the moments of everyday high school life to planning out the details of my future thank you that every time i came to you with a new ambitious idea you always met me with yes let's do it you inspire me every day to be confident and push myself when we picked mentors during the first week of school i had no idea that you would become such a huge part of my life and then and of course thank you mr gorsh for letting me into the school at the last minute and never letting me forget that you're a better dancer than me also thank you miss sherry for teaching me that my well-being is more important than my productivity i'm so profoundly grateful to every single teacher here for making this place so much more than a school the little things like being greeted every morning with hugs and being wished a good day every afternoon as i walked out the door have made all the difference going to a school that you actually miss when you're not there is very rare and very special and couldn't exist with without such loving teachers i have met the most hardworking loving exciting and inspiring people here and i absolutely wouldn't be where i am without them my gratitude for you all is endless thank you i plan to attend the jacqueline kennedy onassis school in new york city next fall to continue as a ballet student for another year after which i hope to continue into career as a professional ballet dancer connor hauser i'm so grateful i got the opportunity to learn and grow at the village i'd like to thank my parents for bringing this school to my attention and for being there for me if i ever needed them i'd also like to like thank my friend connor dant for sticking with me and the many teachers who helped me along my journey and sherry deinline who's been an amazing mentor and friend thank you all for being a part of my life i plan on going to cherries bible college to get a strong foundation in christ and then moving on to a university to study psychology madeleine heinen i would like to thank alejandra and ariana for priding themselves on getting me this far i also want to thank my beautiful mama for all the care and late night food runs to push through one more assignment a very special thanks to my dad for being the day one best friend no one can compare to the man the myth the legend it's been a beautiful start to an even more greatly anticipated future i will be attending santa barbara city college in california to study elementary education wilder jacober there have been so many people who have helped me get to where i am today to the most important mom and dad who've been my biggest fans and supporters since the day i started dreaming i would most definitely not be here without my grandma or sister who have never been shy to help me with my schoolwork or have never failed to be their on my off days and thank you to all of my coaches especially coach john coach luke coach mark and coach sherman and thanks to all the teammates i've had and a big thank you to the joneses who are letting me carry out my career and dreams in their home thank you nathan the village staff and especially my mentor ms lindsey who endured my procrastination all four years my future plans as of today are to continue working for my dream of playing division one college hockey i'll play one more year in the springs and then juniors and hopefully all the way to college zachary klein hexel i would like to thank miss reynolds and miss sherry for getting me through the roller coaster that was high school i don't think i could have done it without their help i would like to thank my grandparents for always believing in me finally thank you to my parents for their tough love and pushing me to never give up i don't know what the future holds but i am going to do some rad stuff jocelyn knight i want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me through my high school journey especially those who didn't believe in who believed in me when i didn't i plan on attending esthetician school lydia lake who i've affectionately nicknamed gigglebox i would like to thank my family for their endless support i love you all so much i cannot imagine where i would be without my family i'd like to also thank the staff members of liberty and the village high school who have made this experience just so much more enjoyable high school has not been easy but teachers and staff who lift me up every day have helped me win the battle i'd lastly like to thank children's hospital for changing my life without the treatment i have received there i'm not even sure i would be graduating today thank you all i love you all i will be i'll be planning to attend colorado state university i love looking working with children with disabilities and i plan to pursue a career making that part of my everyday life i don't even i don't even know if i have it all figured out but i will either go into a special education or occupational therapy zach leslie i would like to thank mr savage and mr norris for all the support they have given me and i would like to thank all the teachers and staff for helping me through the rough spots of my academic experience last i would like to thank all my friends who went through this with me after high school i will be attending ppcc and getting a degree in environmental science to become a park ranger danielle lucas i have finally made it to graduation i know some of us did not think we would see this day come i could not have made it here without the support from all the teachers at village high school especially mrs redinger and cr mrs redinger has been my mentor since ninth grade and cr was my sixth grade science teacher at eagle view middle school also my mom was a huge part of helping me at home and with my health thank you to everyone who has had a part in this adventure and will possibly continue this crazy adventure with me i have owned my own business for two years so i will continue to do that i have been fortunate to have a great mentor in the dog training world but will expand my knowledge i will also continue my education in dog training and behavior with internships and conferences and i would like to formally recognize our honorary graduate nala lucas alyssa millers to say that my high school career was a long and bumpy road is an understatement by the time i finished my freshman year i was about to drop out of school and quit i was very very lucky to have such a supportive family to help get me through the tough times i am so blessed that we found the village when we did without it i would be in a dark place words cannot express how thankful i am to have my parents brothers friends teachers and everyone who has helped me along the way i love you all from the bottom of my heart my family and i are moving this summer to be closer to family i plan on working for a little bit pursuing a career in canine psychology and training my dream is to one day train service dogs for disabled recipients kenley nolan thank you for sticking with me from freshman year to now you've helped me when i needed it most also you stuck with me through my procrastination thank you so much as for what i'm going to do with my life i'm planning to go to south korea to teach english and maybe be a nanny wish me luck jack o'neill thank you to all my teachers and everybody at the village for making the last four years such a great experience and helping me grow as a person thank you to all my friends and family because of you i have had such a great high school experience and am prepared and excited for the future i will be attending the university of wyoming as a student in the honors college while majoring in journalism minoring in disability studies and swimming for the university as i pursue my goals of becoming a sports reporter and a paralympic athlete yeah buddy get it brayden oled throughout throughout my life my family has been a huge support in my journey through the years my father helped me pick up skills that i will continue to use for the rest of my life and for that i am grateful my mother has been my greatest emotional support and amazing teacher my brother and sister have also taught me lessons on how to be an individual and how important family is my dog penny taught me how important walks are and how beautiful the great outdoors are my cat allie taught me the value of relaxation i am so so thankful for all of the teachers at the village they have all been attentive and understanding during my time here maria de la garza was the most incredible mentor that i could have asked for and it was an honor being her mentee she not only cared about me like a mother but she helped me to push through my procrastinations and finished successfully ms sherry was the most inspiring art teacher ever i always look forward to going to art class because of her amazing and uplifting personality and art thank you all you have been amazing throughout my journey after high school i plan to work alongside my father in the handyman and uniquely engineered solutions industry picking up new skills as i work i also plan to travel the world and discover new exciting places ainsley peterson i'd like to thank my family teachers and friends for helping me through high school and i couldn't have done it without their help i will miss high school but i'm ready for my next big step my future plans are to go to college and get into law audra richester i would like to thank a multitude of people but in particular i would like to thank my mom walt marissa janice and all of the amazing teachers i have had these past four years thank you for helping me find my voice and guide me in my beliefs thank you for the unconditional love and support thank you for being you i'm attending colorado state university to study dietetics sydney roman's team during my time in high school i've been met with many new challenges without help from my parents my closest friends my mentor mr norris and the teachers at village high school i would not be graduating these individuals have given me many pushes in the right direction an extreme amount of patience during the times i struggled the most in school my parents gave me love support and understanding during times i felt mentally drained or down my best friends gave me hundreds of reasons to smile when i felt lost or hopeless in school mr norris and teachers of village high school helped me plan ways to succeed and stay motivated thank you for all you have done for me my plans after high school are to pursue a career in zoology cormac robinson there were times where i was down times where i don't want to face the challenges that a new day brings there are times where i was broken i wanted to thank my family and my friends who helped me through these rough times and led me to where i am today i am truly grateful for the help and love that i've been given i also wanted to thank the teachers and the staff of the school for making such a wondrous and supportive environment for everyone that comes to the village you are the driving force behind a student's success and making what this school is and so far you have proven to be unbelievably good at your jobs thank you to everyone who has gotten me here and congrats to everyone here for pushing yourselves and coming out on top my plans are to head off to college and go into mechanical engineering well i know it's going to be a lot of work i'm willing to commit myself to it caitlyn rolfe i would like to thank the entirety of village high school faculty and staff for their continued support and patience i would also like to thank all of my friends quizlet and espresso for helping me through high school and last but not least i'd like to thank my family for always having my back and for being there for me special thanks to my parents lori and daniel they've been by my side and supported me since the beginning mom thank you for being my best friend and inspiration dad thank you for being the person i will always strive to be i love you guys more than you know i'll be attending grand canyon university university in the fall i'll be studying theology with an emphasis in youth ministry with the hope of getting my masters of divinity lopes up lexi ridland [Music] i would like to thank all of the teachers and staff for making my high school experience incredible i would especially like to thank miss stacy ms sarah miss kimmy ms kelly and miss lindsey i'd also like to thank nathan for making this school a reality i couldn't have succeeded as much as i did without my support from the village my friends and most importantly my parents i plan on going to uccs in the fall alexia sanders [Music] i would like to thank everyone who helped me to make it this to this point i would like to thank my parents for supporting me and always pushing me to do more and better myself also all of my grandparents especially my grandpa for helping me better understand all of my math lessons thank you also to miss lindsay and miss kimmy for helping me reach the goals i had set up and helping pushing me through when the school year got to be stressful thank you also to the rest of my family my siblings cousins aunts and uncles for always being the best support system i could ask for my future plans are to finish cosmetology school and while i do that i would like to assist under a color specialist and build up my clientele along with furthering my education and taking secular classes to learn new techniques i also plan on being able to work for myself in my own salon suite ryan simons i'd like to thank the people who have supported me and helped me get to this point my friends my family and especially my parents would also like to thank all my teachers a few specifically miss lindsay for being both a good teacher and a friend and mr gorsh for being a great leader and always believing in me these people have all influenced me to pursue a career in education today mr norris is presenting this as he has been my mentor and advocate all four years of high school i can never properly thank the people who have helped me get here on this stage today you guys rock zoe smeyer i want to thank my parents my teachers and my mentor mr norris for always being patient with me even when i left everything to the last minute each semester i'd also like to thank my friends for always making me spy smile despite everything the world threw at us these past four years i will always be grateful for the support i've received and the memories we've made thank you for making my high school experience so special chloe watkins i would like to thank all of my teachers for always believing that i could do it i value the times where we would laugh tease each other and have fun i want to thank my family for always helping me out my aunt would have told me that she's proud of me and that today is when the rest of life begins thank you to all of my friends family and my teachers for helping me achieve this great milestone i plan to become a paralegal and hopefully move to new york for some volunteer work holly white first and foremost i would like to thank my family specifically my mom and my sisters for molding me into the woman i am today i would also like to thank all of the faculty and staff at the village each and every one of you have made such an impact on my life and i will forever cherish the memories i have here i would like to give a special thanks to mr norris for always pushing me to pursue my passions and for encouraging me to use my voice as of august i will be taking classes at ppcc for elementary education and then transferring to a four-year after getting my associate's degree regardless of how my future plays out i know children will be a large part of my life thank you again to my village family for teaching me so much brayton wilmus i want to give a huge thank you to my parents for everything in life they've given me and supported me in deciding to transfer to the village for junior and senior year was a really hard decision but i had so much support from my parents the baseball team who attends the village and nathan without them it would have been so difficult i want to thank all of my friends at the village nathan mrs lindsey and especially mr and mrs colgate for making that adjustment so easy i want to thank my mom and dad for raising me into the young man i am and supporting me so much throughout my baseball career and everything i've done since february 13th of 2003 i'm so thankful for the opportunity to graduate and go to college and none of that could have hap could have ever happened without my teammates coaches and most importantly my parents so thank you after high school i'm going to the university of colorado colorado springs to continue my education in baseball career with a major in business management elena wilson thank you so much to the village for being my home for the past four years i'm so grateful for these teachers and my mentors mr savage and ms nolan i've survived my years in high school in large part due to the village and the friends i have made and the teachers that have cared not only for my success as a student but my success as a person i owe a great deal of thanks to my parents as well for being my biggest fans and building me up when i couldn't on my own in the fall i hope to attend university of boulder university of colorado at boulder majoring in political science so i can eventually work as a political journalist i hope to make a difference in my community and in the world because of how many people have made a difference in my life trinity wilson i would like to thank my little brother theodore who will forever be my best friend and inspires me every day also thank you to queen olivia who made our senior year so memorable and kept me motivated when times weren't so fun both of you are making going out of state a hard decision as life is better with you by my side i can't forget my parents i love you both and thank you for all the support throughout the years i plan on attending creighton university and majoring in exercise science on a pre-physical therapy track olivia yanez thank you to my mom and dad for raising me to be the woman i am today also thank you to sam ethan audrey and evelyn for teaching me to be loving kind and tough i am more than grateful to have met trinity she supports me and shows me to live life with an attention and carry myself with pride to all my teachers at the village thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow my last two years of a high school you all taught me that only i choose my future and that i am strong enough to make those decisions thank you lindsay and nathan for pushing me to be a better student woman and friend my future plans are to attend and graduate nursing school with an rn bsn then go to work in the nicu and become a nurse practitioner alright class of 20 21 please stand please move your tassel from the left side and place it on the right thank you all right as we close seniors you can pick up your diplomas from miss stacy after the ceremony in the back thanks again to the board of education ms reynolds and mr gregory thank you for being here please exit the stadium and move all gatherings to an alternative location 2021 graduates you are dismissed i close my eyes and i can see a world that's waiting up for me [Music] they can say they can say i've lost my mind [Music] i don't care i don't care so call me crazy we can live in a world that we desire the brightest colors fill my head a million dreams are keeping me away i think of what the world could be [Music] there's a house we can build every room inside is filled with things from far away special things i compile [Music] it all sounds crazy [Music] i don't care i don't care if they call us crazy [Music] fill my head a million [Music] is all it's going to take share your dreams [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] every see i lie in bed the brightest colors fill my head a million dreams are keeping me a million dreams a million dreams [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] for the world we're gonna make you
since 2019 mr gregory has been the superintendent of schools in academy district 20. thank you for your leadership of district 20. please join me in welcoming an enthusiastic supporter of discovery canyon campus superintendent mr tom gregory well thank you dr wahlstrom i would like to start by acknowledging those who made this graduation possible dr jim smith and all of our high school principals i'd like to thank for their continuous efforts to plan re-plan and plan again graduation ceremonies over the last few months in order to keep up with changing guidance their focus has always been centered on developing the most traditional graduation ceremony possible with as few restrictions as possible with the most guests as possible dr smith and dr wahlstrom on behalf of the district 20 community thank you for making this day of celebration possible i also want to run i also want to recognize and thank class of 2021 student mia danceler for participating on my student advisory council this past year mia not only did you represent the dcc high school student voice with honor and pride your perspective regarding feedback on website effectiveness online learning covid frustrations equity and inclusion graduation ceremonies and many other topics was valued and constructive thank you mia i would also tell you mia served a very special purpose in that group one she attended every meeting we had two mia is that kind of person that i think may be uncomfortable with the awkward silence after a question is asked seeking input mia can wait no longer than about two seconds before she speaks up and says well i'll just start off and that got every one of the conversations happening so thank you mia well class of 2021 congratulations you've made it you've navigated some of the most difficult circumstances faced by students in decades you sacrificed the end of your junior year and continued that sacrifice through your senior year and your senior year has been like no other remote learning in-person learning online learning and hybrid learning that is a lot of learning and all that learning include a host of new norms mask breaks cohorting social distancing quarantines hand sanitizer more quarantines more hand sanitizer and more quarantines you endured shortened athletic seasons online concerts and plays outdoor proms numerous cancellations and dare i say it not one single snow day and that was not all your senior year was marked by some of the most contentious social and political events in history your senior year has been one of historical proportions you've made history in 10 20 50 even 100 years students and teachers will read about your journey in their history classes but through it all you persevered you were patient you were flexible and you showed grit in short you demonstrated resilience resilience is described as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape or most simply put being elastic resilience is now part of your dna and frankly that is a good thing because resilience is a characteristic you will need to lean on throughout your life i wish i could tell you that life gets easier and resilience is a trait you only needed in 2020 and 2021 but the truth is whether through your job continued education or future relationships you will face challenges you overcame the challenges of your senior year and you will continue to overcome future challenges because you are adaptable you are persistent you are resilient and you are creative problem solvers an article in the journal of medical science from 2016 reads resilience is an individual's ability to adaptively respond to hardship stress and adversity it is the ability to bounce back that describes each and every one of you that same article says individuals who report high levels of resilience typically portray an optimistic outlook positive emotionality curiosity and openness to new experiences they're able to emerge from a challenge stronger wiser and more powerful resilience correlates strongly with success interpersonal satisfaction happiness and hope as you leave here today prepared to make your mark on this world i ask that you use the events of the last 16 months to propel you forward no matter how much the world tries to hold you back challenge you or knock you down always continue with the belief that what you want to achieve is possible do not lose hope stay confident believe in possibilities channel your curiosity seek solutions to problems others may not see you can find hope through many means hope can arise from simply taking in new information or gaining new knowledge sometimes it may be just the smile of a trusted friend the friend who trusts in you or in your ability to find a creative solution to a new problem as described in the story of the lone shark and the daughter the story goes in a small italian town many years ago a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan shark the loan shark was an old rough looking guy that just so happened to fancy the business owner's daughter the lone shark offered the businessman a deal that would dissolve the businessman's debt however there was a catch the catch was that he would only forgive the debt if he could marry the businessman's daughter needless to say this proposal was met with disgust but as the story goes the lone shark proposed that he would place two pebbles in a bag one white and one red the daughter would then reach into the bag and pick out a pebble if it was red the debt would be forgiven and the loan shark would then marry the businessman's daughter if the stone selected was white the debt would still be forgiven but the daughter would not have to marry the loan shark so standing on a path strewn with red and white pebbles in the businessman's garden the lone shark bent over and picked up two pebbles as he was picking them up the daughter noticed that he picked up two red pebbles and placed them into the bag he then asked the daughter to go ahead and reach in the bag and pick one naturally the daughter had three choices one refused to pick a bubble from the bag which would not help her father two take both pebbles out of the bag expose the loan shark for a cheater but again that would not help her father or three pick a pebble from the bag full well knowing it was going to be red and she would sacrifice herself for her father's financial freedom so she reluctantly drew a pebble from the bag and before the color was discovered she appeared to accidentally drop it to the ground undetectable amid the other red and white pebbles she had quickly engineered a fourth option after a short pause she said to the loan shark oh how clumsy of me but if you look into the bag for the pebble that is left you will be able to tell which pebble i dropped the pebble left in the bag is obviously red and knowing the lone shark didn't want to be exposed he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white her father's debt was cleared the loan shark defeated her creative solution saved the situation in an instant the father and daughter went from feeling a sense of hopeless to a sense of hopeful as the result of a short moment in time when she saw solutions others did not as martin luther king jr stated we must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope you are graduating today from a great school in a great district in a terrific community in a wonderful state in the greatest country in the world you have every reason to be hopeful and optimistic as you reflect and celebrate on your time in high school remember you did not make the journey alone please take time to thank the friends teachers parents grandparents and anyone else who pushed or even pulled you to this day congratulations discovery canyon campus high school class of 2021 i wish you a successful hopeful and fulfilling future be well and be safe thank you thank you mr gregory next up caden ford senior cayden ford will address the class of 2021 caden good morning well i truly did not think the day would come i legitimately believed that we would remain children forever that attending high school five days a week would define our whole life maybe that's because as an element as an elementary schooler hearing that you will graduate in 2021 seems so far away in such a large number that we would likely be living on mars at that point yeah here we are we graduated although this marks the end of our high school days please know that this is just the beginning of what we will learn and do with our lifetime for those of you who go off to college there is no doubt you'll be learning for those of you who take gap years you'll be learning for those of you who enter the workforce perhaps you'll be learning most of all we will continue to learn because we will experience something new and different something foreign and when in life we face something that we have not seen before that is when the most growth takes place humans are defined by their ability to persevere to press through trials to succeed without wavering without doubt excess yet here we are today standing as perfect examples of the human condition of the human condition we push through what some may call the worst senior year we've had this century but instead of you asking yourself why why me why did i need to deal with all of that ask yourself what did i learn from this ask yourself why do i have the privilege of being a part of the history books what did i do right to earn perhaps the greatest learning opportunity of all for those of you who took ceramics maybe you are aware of how porcelain is made porcelain is is a ceramic product that is of the highest quality for those of you who have china sets at home you know how expensive this is the steps for making porcelain ceramics are first crushing then purification after the clay is purified it is shaped then enters a period of relatively low heating after heating the glaze is purified after the glaze is applied the following period of intense heating once again was heated to astronomical temperatures after emerging from the fires of the kiln the clay has chemically changed its nature it has become something more than it could have on its own the clay has become pure and priceless so why am i talking about a bunch of really old ceramics at a graduation ceremony do you remember that super cool part at the end of grad guardians of the galaxy when groot says we are groot and then everyone in the in the theater starts losing their mind i am talking about porcelain because we are porcelain next time you are frustrated next time you are quarantined from your favorite school activity next time you are unable to do the things you once loved know that you are in the fires of the kiln know that you are emerging as a brand new person when we look at when we look back at our high school days we will have a faint smile on our face we may not know it now but when we tell our story to our grandchildren we will say we had the privilege of going to high school during a pandemic that the events of this year have set us on a course to success go forward with celebration go forward with your heads held high because we are the class of 2021.